Research:
Ink and brown wash on paper.
Marks:
Six drawings inscribed in pencil:
[Measurements given] 9′ 1″ and 5′ 5″
Chimney piece for ye Bed Chamber Story
The fascia of marble. The rest of wood.
[with scale and footprint]
Designe [sic] for Bed Chamber Hall Floor / all marble
Chimney piece for ye Bed Chamber Story
The Fascia of marble ye rest of wood
[indistinct writing at top]
marble wood
11 feet 11 to underside of cornish [sic]
3′ 8″
Design for Bed Room (?) floor
Indistinct writing and various measurements
As early as the Renaissance, interior decoration concepts were communicated through designs on paper, from sketches of single pieces of furniture to elevations of entire completed projects. Presentation drawings offered patrons a range of designs and materials to choose from when filling their homes with furniture and decorative objects.
This present set of fourteen designs for a chimneypieces and overmantels, dating from the early eighteenth century, represents a very rare survival of just such a collection of options provided to a patron. Such grand architectural elements within a bedroom setting indicates that the drawings were submitted to a patron who owned one of the more important English country houses.
Full research report available on request.