Designs for Three Couches 1841 - 1884

Charles Hindley and Sons created these designs for three couches with graphite on paper. We can use this drawing to consider the identity of the Victorian home. During the Victorian era, interior design became a crucial way of displaying social status. Furnishings were more than functional, they were statements about a family’s wealth and taste. The couches here, with their plush upholstery and elaborate detailing, speak to a culture of conspicuous consumption. However, these couches tell a more complex story, these designs also speak to the labor and global trade networks that were necessary to produce such luxury items. Consider the textiles, the wood, the craftsmanship; each element has a history that implicates global power dynamics and colonial exploitation. The act of domestic display created a narrative about the family that inhabited the space, and the culture that sustained it.