Elevations, three on one sheet, for metal borders of rooms by John Yenn (1750-1821) from the office of Sir William Chambers (1723-1796). This drawing copies another or others and is included here because it is unclear if the borders, designed to conceal the edges of textile wall covering, are designed by Chambers or by Yenn. No other designs for these are known from the Chambers circle. The upper two borders are variations on Chambers’s favourite running scroll, the bottom one a more fanciful composition of waving leaves, perhaps more attributable to Yenn.

Chambers was born in Sweden and died in London. He travelled widely, visiting China, and studied architecture at the Ecole des Arts, Paris, from 1749 and in Italy from 1750 to 1755. Many of his drawings from this period are contained in his important 'Franco-Italian' album, held in the V&A. Chambers moved to London in 1755 and published his influential Treatise on Civil Architecture in 1759. Chambers demonstrated the breadth of his style in buildings such as Gower (later Carrington) House and Melbourne House, London, in such country houses as Duddingston, Scotland, and in the garden architecture he designed for Wilton House, Wiltshire, and at Kew Gardens. He became head of government building in 1782, and in this capacity built Somerset House, London.