Tessa Murdoch’s most recent book is ‘Europe Divided: Huguenot Refugee Art and Culture’ (V&A Publishing).
Far from being a toy, the Uppark doll’s house was designed as an instruction manual in three-dimensional form
An open access publication celebrates glittering works from the 17th and 18th centuries
Murals by the pastellist Nicolas Party provide a temporary backdrop for a Venetian portrait
George II gave his god-daughter a decorative silver bowl that was later put to surprisingly practical use
Who is the subject of the painter’s cryptically titled ‘Madame C d’A’? Tessa Murdoch looks for clues among his most progressive patrons
The grounds of the Shortgrove estate in Newport, Essex, have long been lovingly preserved, but a new development now threatens its future
When John Tenniel drew the grumpy Gryphon in ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’, he may have had a real heraldic monster in mind
Toys aren’t just for children, at least if a 250-year-old musical elephant at the grandest house in Buckinghamshire is anything to go by
Did Raphael know a bream from a sardine? Tessa Murdoch consults her fishmonger
Restoration work at the Norfolk house has uncovered fascinating evidence of its past as a Catholic stronghold – in part preserved by nesting rodents
