Drawing thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case W, Shelf 9, Box A(ii)

Drawing

ca.1738-ca.1776 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Thomas Chippendale was a fashionable designer and cabinet-maker in the eighteenth-century, providing furniture to such famous contemporary figures as David Garrick. His company produced high-quality furniture, including some key masterpieces, but Chippendale's outstanding skill was in design. His pattern-book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director went through three editions in the 1750s and 60s and inspired trade catalogues and pattern-books from fellow designers. Usually produced by architects, a large, elegant pattern-book was an ambitious project for a craftsman at this time. The Director showed the full range of furniture available in the eighteenth century, and the range of styles that were fashionable. Chippendale created a trademark fusion of rococo style with Chinese and gothic elements, which was the basis of 'English' rococo. His style influenced furniture design in contemporary Europe and colonial America, and had a marked Victorian revival in England. The Director designs were the main source for Chippendale's high reputation until his furniture was first identified in 1906.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink and wash on paper
Brief description
A design for a four-poster bedstead in pen, ink and wash on paper, Chippendale.
Physical description
An ornate design for a four-poster bedstead. The headboard is decorated with rococo ornament and tassels. The canopy has rococo ornament, a cusped edging hung with tassels, and drapery with an elaborate finial supporting a crown. The front posts differ in design, the right hand being hung with drapery, the left exposed to show a column in neo-classical style.
Dimensions
  • Height: 309mm
  • Width: 198mm
Style
Production typeDesign
Historical context
This design is very similar, but not identical to Plate 43 in the third edition of Chippendale's pattern-book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director.
Subject depicted
Summary
Thomas Chippendale was a fashionable designer and cabinet-maker in the eighteenth-century, providing furniture to such famous contemporary figures as David Garrick. His company produced high-quality furniture, including some key masterpieces, but Chippendale's outstanding skill was in design. His pattern-book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director went through three editions in the 1750s and 60s and inspired trade catalogues and pattern-books from fellow designers. Usually produced by architects, a large, elegant pattern-book was an ambitious project for a craftsman at this time. The Director showed the full range of furniture available in the eighteenth century, and the range of styles that were fashionable. Chippendale created a trademark fusion of rococo style with Chinese and gothic elements, which was the basis of 'English' rococo. His style influenced furniture design in contemporary Europe and colonial America, and had a marked Victorian revival in England. The Director designs were the main source for Chippendale's high reputation until his furniture was first identified in 1906.
Bibliographic reference
The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director, 1762, pl.43
Collection
Accession number
D.711-1906

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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