Master of the horse – Tips, Chamber Pots and Powdered Wigs
In 2019-2020, the Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies carried out the project Master of the horse – Tips, Chamber Pots and Powdered Wigs. The project was carried out by Kristine Dyrmann with support from the Spar Nord Foundation, Norddjurs Municipality and the Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik Foundation.
The project explored the interaction between status consumption and everyday expenses at the 18th century manor. Through an examination of receipts and bills from the Count couple Jørgen Scheel and Charlotte Louise von Plessen, who for four decades – from about 1740 to about 1780 – owned the Gammel Estrup manor and at the same time participated in life at the king’s court in Copenhagen, the project provided an insight into the past life at the manor for everyday life and celebrations, for high and low. The Count couple were part of the court’s inner circles, and Count Jørgen has since been given the name “Master of the horse” due to the high position he achieved at court; managing the king’s stables.
Among the count couple's receipts were not only bills for blue camel wool harness for the winter sleigh rides with six horses harnessed to the carriage. They also provided an insight into the couple's and the entire manor's life, both everyday and festive, from the butler's purchase of spices and the chef's payment for repairs to the copper pots in the manor's kitchen to orders for perfumed water and perfumed wigs from Copenhagen's fine French suppliers – and gloves from Randers, delivered to the countess during her summer stay at Gammel Estrup.
Together, this unique collection of bills provided an opportunity to explore the shopping habits of the past. Like a former online bank, the receipts opened a window into understanding life between the manor and the court, from the autumn journey through Jutland to the capital, to the spring masquerades. The aim of the project was therefore to gain a greater understanding of consumption as part of the count couple's dual appearance as both country elite and courtiers. At the same time, the project provided a unique opportunity to capture the underlying machinery of the distinguished lifestyle, the interaction between the nobility and servants: What was the role of the servants in the large households that traveled from Djursland to Copenhagen and back to the Gammel Estrup manor every year?
The project was carried out by:
Kristine Dyrmann