Housekeeping: shine, polish, gloss and glaze as surface strategies in the domestic interior
Kelley, Victoria (2015) Housekeeping: shine, polish, gloss and glaze as surface strategies in the domestic interior. In: The objects and textures of everyday life and literature in imperial Britain. Ashgate, Farnham. ISBN 9781409455189
![[thumbnail of Kelley Victoria final.docx]](https://research.uca.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/application_msword.png "Kelley Victoria final.docx")
The objects that represent the everyday domesticity of the Victorian age in our great museums of decorative arts – whether clothes, furniture, ceramics, silver or other household objects – are overwhelmingly pristine. They do not (are not allowed to) carry the marks of bodies, of wear and tear, of ingrained dirt or stains. This paper focuses on the surface qualities of domestic objects of the middle and working classes in Britain between c.1850 and 1914. It examines the processes of degradation to which ordinary domestic objects have been subjected, as well as the processes of cleaning, polishing and maintaining that were used to stave off decay and to enhance surface integrity. It posits three related modes of interaction between people and the surfaces of the objects they owned and cared for: surface fanaticism; surface anxiety; and surface delight.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8392-8108
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