The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology University of Oxford

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has a wonderful collection of European paintings and frames. I am particularly fond of cassetta frames, of which they have many lovely examples. The small guide book 'Frames and Framings - Ashmolean Guide Books' looks at 34 of the frames in the collection and is well worth getting if you like frames, and plan to visit the museum.

Making a Cassetta Frame

Corner Repair in Progress

Gilded and Painted Frames

A couple of gilded and painted frames that were made for flamingo paintings on canvas, by the artist Jeremy Houghton:

http://jeremyhoughton.co.uk/

Modern Frames

A couple of examples of some modern frames that we made recently.

Gilding a Watts Frame

Swept Frame Damage

This antique swept frame shows what happens when frames are handled poorly. It was picked up by the top centre, which gave way under the weight of the rest of the frame, and resulted in a drop to the floor which caused considerable damage to a number of areas. The canvas also suffered a large dent. Sadly the broken off sections were thrown away, which means a lot more work will be involved, than just piecing together the broken bits. 

I would always suggest frames are handled with great care, and never by the corners or centres, best to hold two sides and even better if you can wear cotton gloves.

Oval Mirror Repairs

This table standing oval mirror frame had a few areas of damage, which have been repaired.

Pre-Raphaelite Frame

Another example of a 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite style frame, this one made from composition with a bold relief pattern.

Gilt Oak Rossetti Frame

This is a really super example of a 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite frame, called a Rossetti frame after the artist. It was made by W.A. Smith who made frames for many of the leading artists of the late 19th Century. A simple design but one of my favoutite styles of antique frames.

Carved Oak Frame

A nice example of a 19th Century carved oak Pre-Raphaelite type frame, with the gilding applied directly on the open wood grain. 

Gilt Paint Finish

A frame with a distressed gilt paint finish.

Carved Hogarth Style Frames

A selection of carved 18th/19th Century frames, known as Hogarth frames.

Ornament Mould

Here I am making a simple mould to copy an egg and dart moulding. It will be used to decorate a cassetta profile frame.

Distressed Antique Gilding

A great example of beautifully aged and distressed gilding, seen on this continental fluted second Empire frame.

Restored Watercolour Frame

This 19th Century watercolour frame has just been repaired and restored. It had numerous losses to the ornament, and had been overpainted, it had also been gilded a couple of times. It has been cut down to fit a smaller painting, the composition missing has been replaced, and it has been regilded.

19th Century Composition Frame

This very ornate Victorian frame is in good condition, considering how most antique frames suffer damage and losses, this example is in surprisingly whole condition. 

Thin Gesso Frames

The two outer frames seen here will be used to make a cassetta frame, with a walnut stained wood flat used in-between them. The outer section will have an egg and dart ornament applied, with some acanthus leaves at the corners.

Wide Handmade Frames

Here are some pictures of most of the stages involved in making a handmade frame.

Another Large Frame

Here are a few of the stages involved in making a large frame, a wooden slip frame is used in place of a mount. 5mm Acrylic will be used for the glazing. A subframe is also used which is fixed to the foamboard backing, and will be screwed into the main frame to increase the strength and rigidity.

Blue Silk and Gilded Mount

The inner mount is gilded in 23.5ct gold leaf using an acrylic gold size on dark brown painted base, it is then sealed with shellac. The top mount is blue silk.