Melody Rose for The Wallace Collection

Melody Rose Designer Melanie Roseveare has been commissioned by The Wallace Collection to create a timeless range of fine bone china tableware and sumptuous textiles inspired by one of the museum’s superb Old Masters paintings. Melanie chose to reimagine The Temptation of St Hillarion – a 19th Century painting by French artist Dominique-Louis-Féréol Papety – which she felt was in keeping with the Melody Rose charming yet playful signature style.

In the painting, St Hillarion is seen living as a hermit, lying on the ground outside his cave. He appears to subsist on a diet of root vegetables and water which may have caused him to have hallucinations – namely a visit by a topless seductress offering cascading fruits, wine and a sultry look.
Deconstructing the painting and giving it a contemporary twist, Melody Rose celebrates the ‘temptation’ St Hillarion sees in his visions by depicting The Temptress and The Hermit on a range of fine bone china and plump and luxurious velvet cushions in a choice of two bold colours – burnt orange and goblin blue – complete with gold tassels.


The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th-century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury.

www.wallacecollection.org