The exhibition provides a snapshot of the eclectic and lavish decorative aesthetic of the Victorian era. Inspired by a range of sources including historic revivals and orientalism, this opulent look was defined by a passion for ornamentation and an overlapping of colour, texture and pattern. In a Victorian home every available surface was filled with objects, curiosities, pictures and furnishings.

A sign of wealth in the Victorian era was having a house large enough to have separate rooms each with a specific purpose. Two rooms that gained particular popularity at this time, especially in expanding middle-class homes, were the parlour and the dining room.

The parlour’s primary function was entertainment and display. Situated at the front of the house, this room was the public face of the family, quite separate to the private rooms of the house. It was the room where a family would receive visitors and display prized objects, pictures and furnishings, exhibiting their wealth and social aspirations. If a family could afford only one room to be lavishly decorated, this was it.

The parlour was principally a female domain, so furnishings and decorative elements were chosen by the lady of the house, often in consultation with an advisor (today’s equivalent of an interior designer or decorator) or from a printed store catalogue full of images and articles on household management and decoration espousing the latest decorative styles. At this time, interior design was governed by strict standards of propriety, so each element was chosen carefully for its contribution to the overall effect of the room.

Second to the parlour, the dining room was one of the most important rooms in the house, serving as a space for formal and informal dining and socialising. Especially for the middle classes, the achievement of a room designated specifically for dining became a symbol of social status. Such social status was not only achieved by having the space for a dining room, however, but by having the capacity to comprehend and perform the social practices accompanying the dining experience. There were also conventions governing how the dining room was decorated and furnished and what serving ware should be used. Refined grandeur was a most desirable quality. Fundamental dining room furniture comprised a dining table and chairs and a buffet or sideboard.

Come along to Post Office Gallery at 12.30pm on Thursday, August 13, for a short tour of the exhibition and discover some of the stories behind the 19th century treasures on display; decorative ceramic, elegant serving ware, dainty teacups, and precious jewels.

Opulence: luxury in early Bendigo homes is on until October 4.