Architectural Design
18th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The motif of a laurel wreath which is continued to form opposing smaller wreaths was used by Chambers on the centres of several ceilings, including that of the drawing room at Duntish Court.
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.
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.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink, pencil and grey washes |
| Brief description | Plan of a ceiling; William Chambers |
| Physical description | Plan of a ceiling. This drawing, in an office hand, shows an oval frame at the centre within a ruled border. This is surrounded by a laurel wreath which is continued to form opposing smaller wreaths. On the back of the sheet is a pencil sketch of a sideboard with candleholders, presumably by Starkie Gardner. The scale is 7/8 inches to 1 foot. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Bought from J. Starkie Gardner, 1910. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The motif of a laurel wreath which is continued to form opposing smaller wreaths was used by Chambers on the centres of several ceilings, including that of the drawing room at Duntish Court. 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. |
| Bibliographic reference | Snodin Catalogue Number: 801 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.4976-1910 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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