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Drawing

Drawing

  • Place of origin:

    Great Britain, United Kingdom (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1761-1762 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    John Linnell, born 1729 - died 1796 (designer)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Ink, pencil and watercolour

  • Museum number:

    E.131-1929

  • Gallery location:

    Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E, case W, shelf 8, box C6

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This design is one of several designs for the same sofas for the 1st Baron Scarsdale at Kedleston Hall. The sofas took three years to make and arrived in 1765.

John Linnell (1729-1796) was the son of the famous furniture maker William Linnell (ca. 1703-1763). Unlike most furniture makers, John Linnell gained a design education at the St. Martin's Lane Academy, which was founded by William Hogarth in 1735. In 1750, aged 21, he joined his father's firm as a designer. On his father's death in 1763, John Linnell took over the family firm. During his lifetime John Linnell produced high quality furniture, which rivalled that of other leading furniture makers such as Thomas Chippendale, John Cobb and William Ince and John Mayhew.

Physical description

A sketch of the large pair of sofas made for Kedleston Hall. It is upholstered in red. Five bolster cushions are placed on the sofa. At either end are merfolk supports. The left support is a mermaid playing a harp made out of a shell. The support features a merman playing a horn made out of a shell. The other legs feature fish. Above the sofa a large mirror, about the length of the sofa, is sketched in.

Place of Origin

Great Britain, United Kingdom (made)

Date

ca. 1761-1762 (made)

Artist/maker

John Linnell, born 1729 - died 1796 (designer)

Materials and Techniques

Ink, pencil and watercolour

Marks and inscriptions

'Plate [illegible]'

Dimensions

Height: 287 mm, Width: 42 cm

Object history note

This design is one of several designs for the same sofas for the 1st Baron Scarsdale at Kedleston Hall. The sofas took three years to make and arrived in 1765.

Descriptive line

Sketch of the large pair of sofas for Kedleston Hall; John Linnell, ca. 1761-1762.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Helena Hayward and Pat Kirkham,William and John Linnell: eighteenth century London furniture makers (London, ca. 1980), pp. 123 (v2), 21, 111 (v1).

Materials

Pencil; Watercolour; Ink

Techniques

Drawing

Subjects depicted

Mirror; Mermaid; Sofa; Merman; Kedleston Hall

Categories

Furniture; Drawings; Designs

Collection code

PDP

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Qr_O754637
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