Ceiling

Object Type
Robert Adam's ceilings were the masterpieces of his interiors. Decorated with mythological paintings and classical motifs in plasterwork, his ceiling designs echo those of the floor carpets. Fashionable as his interiors were, they did not meet with universal approval. To Horace Walpole they were 'Gingerbread and snippets of embroidery'.

Place
This ceiling is the only piece left from the drawing room of 5 Royal Terrace in the Adelphi, London. The Adelphi (Greek for 'brothers') was a speculative development on the banks of the Thames, off the Strand, by Robert Adam and his younger brother James. However, the exorbitant cost of the foundations, as well as the high tides and pollution of the river brought the venture at one stage close to bankruptcy.

People
David Garrick, for whose house the ceiling was designed, was the greatest actor of his day. He was a friend of Robert and James Adam, whom he addressed as 'My dear adelphi' (Greek for brothers). Antonio Zucchi, who probably executed the mythological figures on the ceiling, was an Italian decorative painter. He is known to have worked in other houses in the Adelphi.

Subjects Depicted
The ceiling is decorated with griffins, scrolls and festoons, with the Four Seasons in rectangular plaques. In the central roundel is painting of Apollo, his horses being fed by the Four Seasons. This motif was repeated on the ceiling of the saloon at Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire (National Trust).