Travel Influences

All of the women in the Messel family loved travelling and their experiences abroad and interest in other cultures can be seen in some of the styling and detailing of their clothes. Their destinations were guided by their interests in collecting antiques, textiles and rare plants.

Chinese coat c1890-1910. ©Nicholas Sinclair 2004.

Maud Messel

Marion Sambourne's brother Edgar Herapath made the family's first direct contact with China in 1904. He probably gave his niece Maud Messel the two Han jackets preserved in the Messel Dress Collection. It is unlikely that Maud ever wore these jackets, as only the most avant garde women of this period wore Chinese dress, it was probably used a decorative object in her home.

Maud and Leonard Messel travelled widely in Europe collecting antiques, textiles and plants. They did not travel to the Far East but both collected Chinese artefacts.

Much of Maud's wardrobe reflects her romantic interest in the Far East. She chose clothing with modified oriental symbols and exotic motifs applied as decoration. Stripped from their original context they come to represent a sanitised but exotic and mysterious East, which no doubt appealed to Maud's romantic nature.

Chinese coat c1890-1910. ©Nicholas Sinclair 2004.


Evening coat designed by J&FP Wilson c1924, made of red and gilt tissue broacde figured with art deco, oriental-inspired floral motifs.	Evening coat designed by Reville c.1923, made of silk embroidered with a Chinoiserie design. ©Nicholas Sinclair 2004.

Day dress with Graeco-Turkish style decoration c1905. ©Nicholas Sinclair 2004.

Maud's collection of antique textiles, acquired during her travels abroad and from antique shops in England, included pieces of Graeco-Turkish floral fabric which she applied to the hem of fancy dress outfit in 1913. A fashionable red muslin day dress of circa 1905 also has curious Graeco-Turkish styled, hand-painted, wax-edged, floral decoration around the neckline. The provenance of this dress is a mystery. It is possible Maud bought the fabric or dress abroad or might have been inspired by a design she saw on her travels.

Anne, 6th Countess of Rosse

Anne, 6th Countess of Rosse and Michael, 6th Earl of Rosse spent their honeymoon in 1935-1936 travelling to Paris, Munich, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, Colombo, Jakarta, Bali and Peking. Anne's trousseau was made by the couturier Charles James. It included 'cotton dresses for the tropics and Far East, stout thick wear for mid-winter in China and Russia ... and also dresses for embassy dinners.' All that remains of Anne's trousseau is the yellow dress designed for her to wear in Bali, which is preserved in the Messel Dress Collection. Anne and Michael brought back to Birr Castle Chinese textiles collected there by Michael's brother.

Anne and Michael often visited America. In 1938 in New York Anne was photographed for Vogue wearing her black and white Charles James evening gown. The couple frequently travelled to Italy, attending Charles de Beisutegui's last great ball at the Venice Carnival in 1951.

Alison 7th Countess of Rosse & Anna, Lady Oxmantown

The family's close relationship with China continues today. William Brendan, 7th Earl of Rosse and Alison, 7th Countess of Rosse travel to China to collect plants and seeds for the gardens at Birr Castle. Their son Lord Oxmantown married Anna Lin Xiaojing in Beijing in 2004. Anna designed three dresses for the day which combined elements of Chinese traditions with European fashions.