Treasure hunt: How the Filoli estate is rebuilding its collection

Filoli Historic House and Gardens is the only National Trust for Historic Preservation property on the San Francisco Peninsula. Visiting the 654-acre site in Woodside, with its 54,000-square-foot Willis Polk-designed mansion, is an opportunity to step back in time and imagine how the previous owners, the Bourn and Roth families, enjoyed a life of wealth and prestige. In order to make the experience as authentic as possible, the estate’s staff has made a concerted effort to find and/or replace significant objects that once belonged in the home. It is a monumental task that involves research, perseverance and patience, as well as a healthy dose of good luck.

Filoli Director of Museum Collections Kevin Wisney said that the story begins with William and Agnes Bourn, who purchased the land in 1917 with the plan to build a country retreat on the Peninsula. It took three years to build the house and the Bourns (whose wealth came from gold mines and the Spring Valley Water Company) owned the property until their deaths in 1936.

“The major part of the story is about them – they envisioned it and built it,” said Wisney.  He explained that the Bourns loved California and purchased art and furnishings from regional artists that they knew.  

“We think about the formation of California, the people who were here creating the state – it is a compelling story. Seeing the collection that Agnes Bourn built tells a story about her life, the time and what was happening in the world,” he said.

In 1937 the house had new owners, William and Lurline Roth (heiress to the Matson Navigation Company), who purchased not only the house but all of its contents.

 “They were buying a feeling, a lifestyle. The Roths were incredibly social and it was a great place for business events and parties,” Wisney said. 

The Roths expanded the gardens and made Filoli the showplace we know today, but in 1975 Lurline Roth determined that the property should be cared for by the National Trust and opened to the public. She and other family members took some of the contents of the house and the rest was auctioned off by Butterfield & Butterfield. By the time the Trust took possession, the house was empty.

It fell to the staff to fill the house again. 

“They accepted a lot of things that were not necessarily of the time, mainly just to decorate it,” Wisney said. But there was always an underlying desire to remove objects that did not fit the Bourn era and to acquire original pieces, or reasonable replacements.  

In order to do this, Wisney has had to become a bit of a sleuth. Thanks to copious photography taken in the home (the house was often featured in local magazines and the Bourns also had photographs taken for record-keeping), he has been able to determine what was in each room. In addition, a 1936 bank assessment of the entire house was undertaken and virtually everything was inventoried. “It’s an incredible resource for us,” said Wisney.

Using this background information, Wisney has endeavored to replace key pieces in each of the downstairs rooms. (The upper floor is used for offices and storage and is not open to the public). While the task sounds daunting, he explained that he is not looking for every ash tray or vase, but rather “major objects that define a room.”

He had a recent success in the acquisition of two gilded torchieres (plant or candle stands) that once stood in the Reception Room. Acting on a tip from a donor, Wisney learned that a pair of stands were being offered by a Los Angeles auction house. They looked very much like the objects from the Bourn era and he obtained permission to bid on them. He did not have much hope and, after the auction, “I more or less forgot about them.” But then he got an email saying that his bid was successful.  Surprised and pleased, he drove to Los Angeles in order to pick them up and noticed something amazing.  A small black-and-white picture attached to one of the stands revealed that it was taken in a room with wallpaper just like that found in the Reception Room. They were original pieces, once owned by the Bourn family.  

“You follow a lot of dead ends and then something will hit you and you say ‘This is it – this is the one,'” he said.

There are other avenues that Wisney can pursue, including public donations and assistance from Filoli friends and donors. Descendants of the Bourns and Roths have donated furniture and decorative items, as well as personal belongings like Lurline Roth’s dresses.

 Photographs revealed that the house was once “littered with objects from Tiffany and Cartier,” as Wisney described it. While some of the inventory descriptions are vague, by blowing up these vintage photographs, Wisney was able to see that the Bourns owned a “pine needle” lamp by Tiffany. A generous donor offered to fund the purchase of a similar lamp, as well as an ink well and box, all of which are now on display.  

When Wisney discovered that Agnes Bourn collected mezzotints and displayed them in the mansion’s long hallway, the same donor offered to purchase several so that the area could be returned to its original state. “It’s fun when donors get excited with you,” said Wisney.

He noted that it is not unusual for people to stop by or call to say that they have objects they believe came from the house. There is a lengthy process involved before a piece can be accepted, from initial examination to presentation to the president of Filoli, to detailed condition reports and final consideration by the board of trustees. He encourages anyone who thinks they have an object from the house to contact him. “If it is a Bourn piece we will do what we can to acquire it because they are so rare,” he said.

When asked if he had one special object that he would love to find, Wisney responded quickly. There was once a trifold screen in the dining room that framed three bright tapestries of flowers and birds. A descendent of the Bourns was able to buy the screen frame at auction, but not the tapestries. Apparently, the tapestries were made by a famous European firm and the only surviving example of their work is in the British Museum. Wisney said he would love to replace them with reproductions as they would “light up the room.”

The tapestry project will have to wait, however, until the draperies in the room are replaced. His research revealed that the drapes, made by the renowned House of Scalamandré, were once a “deep aubergine color” but have been faded by the sun. Luckily, he was able to work with a local firm in finding the original loom card for the weaving and they will be reproduced.

It is this kind of success that keeps the project moving forward, in spite of a limited budget and the passage of time.

“It is an ongoing process,” Wisney said. “We think we have approximately 40% of the pieces brought back.”

In the meantime, there are some relatively simple fixes that don’t require acquisitions.  Wisney said that recent research revealed that the library originally had a blue palette, rather than the red we see now. Estate staff aim to return the room to its original appearance.

Wisney acknowledged the work can be “slow and frustrating,” but each object returned or replaced provides another piece of the puzzle and offers visitors the chance to enjoy a rare, authentic experience in an early 20th-century California manor house.

“It all tells a cohesive arc of a story about a woman, a place, a state, a time,” said Wisney.

Visitors can tour Filoli’s house and gardens daily, 10 a..m.-5 p.m. Filoli is located at 86 Cañada Road, Woodside. Admission is $29-$39. For more information, visit filoli.org.

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