Hidden Treasures of the RCM Collections

This is one of a series of coloured etchings by George Cruikshank (1792-1878), who is perhaps best known as a friend and illustrator for Charles Dickens. The series depicts children learning dance steps from a dancing teacher. Learners would memorise their steps whilst hearing popular tunes such as ‘The Sailor’s Hornpipe’, played on a small violin called a ‘kit’ or ‘pochette’ - much like the examples displayed in our Museum.

Mary Garden (1874-1967) was one of the most famous opera singers of her era. Born in Scotland, her early vocal training was undertaken after her family moved to the United States in 1883. Mary Garden’s early success as a singer led her to join the Opéra-Comique in 1900. In 1902, she premiered the role of Mélisande in Claude Debussy’s only completed opera Pelléas et Mélisande.

Milein Cosman’s portraits, drawn in 1947 at the Vienna State Opera season at Covent Garden, represent some of the most important musical performers of the era, following the cultural devastation of Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War.

This instrument was acquired by George IV in 1804, as part of a collection of miscellaneous objects illustrative of Chinese life and customs. They were brought from the ancient city of Guangzhou, a major terminus on the maritime Silk Road, by Dr. J.J. Garrett. Several extraordinary objects were brought to London by Garrett and can be found today in public collections, providing evidence of the intense trade relationship that existed between Britain and China at the beginning of the 19th century.