H ©U'SEHOLD F UEM ] TU FE 
 
 AMP 
 
 AT30iM 
 
 E)Ee©l 
 
 EXEeUTEE) FKOM E)ESS©MS 
 
 THOmS ^®PE 
 
HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE 
 
 AND 
 
 INTERIOR DECORATION, 
 
 EXECUTED FROM 
 
 BESIGJVS 
 
 THOMAS HOPE. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 PKINTED BT T. BENSJLEIT, BOET-COIMT, FEEET-STKEET, 
 
 , FOR 
 
 MURST^ REES, ORME, 
 
 FATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 I8O7. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Under the general denomination of Houfehold Furniture 
 are comprifed an infinite variety of different produftions of 
 human indullry, wrought in wood, in Itone, in metal, in com- 
 pofition of various defcriptions, in filk, in wool, in cotton, and 
 in other lefs ufual materials. Each of thefe different articles, 
 however fimple be its texture, and however mean its deftina- 
 tion, is capable of uniting to the more effential requifites of 
 utility and comfort, for which it is moft immediately framed, 
 and with which it can confequently, on no account, difpenfe, 
 a certain number of fecondary attributes of elegance and 
 beauty, which, without impeding the chief purpofe of the 
 objedl, may enable its fliape and accelfories to afford addi- 
 tional gratification, both to the eye and to the imagination. 
 
 Almoft every one of thefe various articles however, aban- 
 doned, till very lately, in this country, to the tafte of the foie 
 upholder, entirely ignorant of the moll familiar principles of 
 vilible beauty, wholly uninflrudled in the fimplefl rudiments 
 of drawing, or, at moft, only fraught with a few wretched 
 ideas and trivial conceits, borrowed from the worft models of 
 the degraded French fchool of the middle of the laft century, 
 was left totally deftitute of thofe attributes of true elegance 
 and beauty, which, though fecondary, are yet of fuch im- 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 portance to the extenfion of our rational pleafures. Furni- 
 ture of every defcription, wrought by the moft mechanical 
 procelfes only, either remained abfolutely void of all ornament 
 whatever, or, if made to exhibit any attempt at embellilhment, 
 offered in its decoration no approach towards that breadth 
 and repofe of furface, that diftinftnefs and contrail of outline, 
 that oppofition of plain and of enriched parts, that harmony 
 and fignificance of acceffories, and that apt accord between 
 the peculiar meaning of each imitative or fignificant detail, 
 and the peculiar dellination of the main objedl, to which thefe 
 acceffories belonged, which are calculated to afford to the eye 
 and mind the moft lively, moft permanent, and moft unfading 
 enjoyment. The article only became, in confequence of its 
 injudicious appendages, more expenfive, without becoming 
 more beautiful; and fuch remained the infipidity of the out- 
 line, and the unmeaningnefs of the embellifhments, even in 
 the moft coftly pieces, that generally, long even before the 
 extreme infolidity and flimfmefs of their texture could induce 
 material injury in them from the effefts of regular wear and 
 tear, the inanity and tamenefs of their fliapes and appendages 
 already completely tired the eye and mind; and left thefe no 
 other means to efcape from the wearinefs and the difguft 
 which they occafioned, than an inftant change for other ob- 
 jefts of a more recent date and a more novel conftruftion. 
 Thus all thofe firms and all that labour were wafted upon ever 
 varying objefts of tranfient whim and puerile fafhion, which, 
 by being employed in the formation and in the purchafe of 
 
3 
 
 objeds of lalling perfeftion and beauty, might have increafed 
 in endlefs progrefs the opulence of the individual, and the 
 wealth of the community. 
 
 If any one felt a delire to decorate his habitation with 
 furniture of fuperior elegance of form and of defign, unable, 
 from the unfrequency of the demand, and from the confe- 
 quent inability of the artificer, to get any fuch wrought at 
 home, he was obliged to procure it from abroad. Often, at a 
 great expenfe, he would only obtain the refufe of foreign 
 manufa Aures ; and even, where he fucceeded in importing the 
 choiceft produAions of continental induftry, thefe only ferved 
 to difcourage our own artifts, to diminifli the balance of trade 
 in our favour, and, by a tacit acknowledgment of our infe- 
 riority in the arts of elegance and tafte, to raife the pride of 
 foreigners at our expenfe. 
 
 Thefe circumftances I beheld with regret ; and, having oc- 
 cafion, a few years ago, to appropriate a little repofitory for 
 the reception of a fmall colleAion of antiquities, Grecian and 
 others, I determined to make a firfl; attempt towards giving 
 the few articles of furniture, required for this purpofe, in 
 addition to the more elfential modifications of utility and of 
 convenience, fome of thefe fecondary attributes of elegance 
 and of beauty which, without being equally indifpenfable with 
 the former, were neverthelefs conducive, not only towards 
 rendering each feparate piece of furniture, individually, a more 
 pleafing and a more graceful objeA, but above all, towards 
 forming the entire alTemblage of produAions of ancient art 
 
4 
 
 and of modem handicraft, thus intermixed, colledtively, into 
 a more harmonious, more conlillent, and more inftrudlive 
 whole. 
 
 I could not help flattering myfelf that that firft deviation 
 from the prevailing llyle of furniture, which I thus purpofed, 
 would, fome time or other, produce fruits more important 
 and more gratifying than the mere trifling and felfiflr fatis- 
 faftion which I might reap from having given a fomewhat 
 greater degree of elegance, than was ufual, to my own Angle 
 habitation. I hoped that the change, in all thofe varied im- 
 plements of ufe and comfort which every houfe of any fize 
 requires, from a tirefome and monotonous inlignificance of 
 form and ornament, to a delightful and varied fignificance of 
 fliape and embellifliment, of which I could only fet the ex- 
 ample in an humble and a reftrided way, would gradually, 
 by others, be extended to an infinitely greater number and 
 diverfity of objeds; that thus infenfibl}^ the arts of defign, 
 applied to every article, and ftudied in every profeflion con- 
 ducive to the comforts of man, would be made to dilFufe 
 their beneficial influence throughout the minuteft ramifications 
 even of what had hitherto been confidered as the exclufive 
 province of the mere mechanic trades ; and that confequently 
 almoft every produdion of induftty, refcued in fome meafure 
 from the hands of the mere plodding artifan, would be en- 
 abled to give fome fcope to the talent of the profeflbr of the 
 more liberal arts; tlie draughtfinan, the modeller, the painter, 
 and the fculptor. 
 
5 
 
 Thus I hoped to afford to that portion of the community 
 which, through the entire fubftitution of machinery to manual 
 labour, in the fabrication of many of the moll extenfive arti- 
 cles of common ufe, had for ever loft the inferior kinds of 
 employment, a means of replacing the lefs dignified mode of 
 fubfiftence of which it had been deprived, by a nobler fpecies 
 of labour; one which abfolutely demands the cooperation of 
 thofe higher intelledlual capacities which the former often 
 allows to remain dormant, or even tends to extinguilh; and 
 one in which, confequently, the powers of mere machinery 
 never can emulate, or fupplant the mental faculties of man. 
 Thus I hoped to open to ingenuity a new and boundlefs field, 
 in which the greater number of artifts, who though qualified 
 to rife above the fphere of the mere artifan, yet are not fuffi- 
 ciently gifted to reach the higheft provinces of the fine arts, 
 might find an ample fource of fuch employment as, without 
 being of the moll exalted defcription, were yet, to a certain 
 degree, elegant and dignified; and in which, moreover, that 
 fmaller number of fuperior men, deftined by the liberality of 
 nature to afpire at eminence in the higheft and nobleft branches 
 of the fine arts, might find a means firft to difcover the latent 
 germs of their genius to themfelves and to others; firft to 
 cultivate and to extend their abilities; firft to give to a dif- 
 truftful public earnefts of the far greater height to which more 
 ample encouragement might ultimately carry their powers; 
 and firft to prefent to that public inducements to bellow on 
 them that greater encouragement required for this purpofe. 
 
 c 
 
Thus I hoped to entice the wealthy, through the more ge- 
 neral difFufion of the charms of art, and through the thence 
 refulting more general initiation into the mylleries of tafte, 
 to divert the employment of a larger portion of their opu- 
 lence from an idle and a ruinous walle of thofe articles of 
 grofs fenfuality or trivial amufement, which, incapable of being 
 enjoyed until they are confumed, are only produced in order 
 to be again deftroyed, to the more profitable as well as more 
 dignified procurement of thofe monuments of vifible elegance 
 and intelleftual beauty which, capable of being enjoyed during 
 the longefl: periods, and by the greatell numbers, without 
 fuffering any material degradation, can alone become inllru- 
 ments of univerfal and of durable gratification, as well as of 
 folid and permanent grandeur: and thus, moreover, by en- 
 abling the lover of elegant refinement to find at home thofe 
 objedls of fuperior defign and execution, which formerly he 
 could only obtain from abroad; by converting into lucrative 
 articles of home-manufafture, and of beneficial exportation, 
 thofe very commodities which had heretofore only appeared 
 in the repulfive and unpatriotic lhape of expenfive articles 
 of foreign ingenuity and of difadvantageous importation, 
 I hoped to increafe in a confiderable degree the internal 
 refources and the external independence of the common- 
 wealth. 
 
 Thus, in fine, I hoped to contribute my mite not only 
 towards remotely giving new food to the induftry of the poor, 
 but new decorum to the expenditure of the rich; not only 
 
7 
 
 towards ultimately increafing the welfare and the commerce 
 of the nation, but refining the intelleftual and fenfible enjoy- 
 ments of the individual; and thus, through the dillant but 
 powerful operation of the new llimuli applied to the human 
 mind, I flattered myfelf with fome day feeing the fame co- 
 pious fource of benefit here firfl opened, produce farther ad- 
 vancement in virtue and patriotifm, as well as farther progrefs 
 in opulence and enjoyment; farther claims to refpeft in our 
 own eyes, as well as farther titles to confideration in the eyes 
 of foreigners. 
 
 If thus great were the advantages which the adoption of 
 the totally new flyle of decoration here defcribed feemed to 
 promife, the difficulties with which its execution was to be 
 attended appeared not lefs confiderable. The union of the 
 different modifications of vifible and intelleftual beauty which 
 were defirable, with the different attributes of utility and 
 comfort which were effential; the aflbciation of all the ele- 
 gancies of antique forms and ornaments, with all the requi- 
 lites of modern cuftoms and habits, having heretofore been fo 
 feldom attended to, in objefts of common and daily ufe, I 
 found no one profeffional man, at once pofTeffed of fufficient 
 intimacy with the ftores of literature to fuggefl ideas, and of 
 fufficient praftice in the art of drawing to execute defigns, 
 that might be capable of ennobling, through means of their 
 fhape and their acceffories, things fo humble in their chief 
 purpofe and deftination as a table and a chair, a footflool and 
 a fcreen. 
 
8 
 
 I was thus obliged to depend in a great meafure on my 
 own inadequate abilities for the accomplifliment of my pur- 
 pofe; and to employ that feeble talent for drawing which I 
 had thus far only cultivated as the means of beguiling an idle 
 hour, in the more laborious talk of compofmg and of delign- 
 ing every different article of furniture, which I wanted the 
 artifan and the mechanic to execute. I need not point out 
 the arduoufnefs of the undertaking, when it is recolleifted 
 that the ftyle of embellilhment which I wifhed to introduce, 
 required in turn the application of every form of the inani- 
 mate and of the animated creation, from the fimpleft of thofe 
 which mark the humblefl; of vegetables, the reed, the lotus, 
 or the thiftle, to the moft complex of thofe which diftin- 
 guidi the human frame in all its greateft ideal perfeftion and 
 beauty. 
 
 Nor were the difficulties limited to the foie procefs of 
 forwarding the requifite drawings. The lead complicated and 
 the lead fignificant of lhapes, borrowed from the mere inani- 
 mate creation, as foon as they are to prefent a rounded and 
 an evanefcent contour, cannot be executed in relief from mere 
 lines traced on a dat furface, however accurately thefe lines 
 be drawn, with any degree of precifion and truth; dill much 
 lefs can the indnitely more complicate, more dgnidcant, and 
 confequently more beautiful forms, borrowed from animated 
 nature, which every where uniformly difplay this evanefcent 
 and receding outline, be transferred to the relief, from fuch 
 a dat furface, with the exadlnefs and the nicety required by 
 
9 
 
 ornaments of this high ftamp, in order not to be converted, 
 from the nobleft of decorations, into the moft difgufling of 
 deformities. From the lines firll traced by the draughtf- 
 man, on a mere plane, muft Hill, in the fecond place, by 
 the modeller, be wrought, in fome foft and yielding fub- 
 ftance, a rilievo, exhibiting in detail all thofe projedlions and 
 recefles, which are unfufceptible of being exprelfed in the 
 drawing, and which neverthelefs are intended to be difplayed 
 in the adlual implement, before thefe concavities and thefe 
 convexities can, in the third and laft inftance, by the carver or 
 the caller be, with any certainty of fuccefs, transferred to the 
 more folid and more inflexible material, out of which the utenfil 
 itfelf is Anally to be wrought; and, if I had in vain fought 
 a fpecies of defigners. Hill lefs was I able to find a defcription 
 of modellers, fufficiently familiar with the various produdlions 
 of art and of nature, with the collume of ancient times, and 
 with the requifites of modern life, with the records of hif- 
 tory, and with the allufions of mythology, to execute, in an 
 accurate and a claffic llyle, that prodigious variety of details 
 and of embellifhments, which, under the various charafters 
 and denominations of imitative and of fymbolic perfonages, 
 of attributes and of infignia of gods and of men, of inflru- 
 ments and of trophies, of terms, caryatides, griffins, chi- 
 maeras, fcenic malks, facrificial implements, civil and mili- 
 tary emblems, &c. once gave to every piece of Grecian and 
 Roman furniture fo much grace, variety, movement, expref- 
 fion, and phyfiognomy; fo much wherewithal to afford to 
 
 D 
 
10 
 
 the eye and the mind the moll luxuriant and uncloying 
 treat. 
 
 Thence I found myfelf under the neceffity of procuring, 
 with great trouble, and Hill greater delay, models and calls 
 from Italy, for alraoll all the leall indifferent compofitions 
 which I have had executed; and under the Hill more painful 
 neceffity of abandoning the execution of many, in my opi- 
 nion, far happier and more pleafing ideas, than thofe which I 
 fucceeded in bringing to light, from the utter impoffibility of 
 obtaining, in any way whatever, the requifite models. 
 
 Like the race of draughtfmen and of modellers, that of 
 carvers in wood and Hone, and of callers in metal and com- 
 pofition, who, without being qualified to take rank among 
 the profeffors of the higher branches of the liberal arts, the 
 llatuary and the painter, might llill poffefs abilities to execute 
 objefts of elegance, fomewhat foaring above the commonell 
 pifturc frame or pier table, and the commonell grate or ftove, 
 were f.'moft totally wanting. Throughout this vail metro- 
 polis, teeming as it does with artificers and tradefmen of every 
 defcription, I have, after the moft laborious fearch, only been 
 able to find two men, to whofe indullry and talent I could in 
 fome meafure confide the execution of the more complicate 
 and more enriched portion of my defigns ; namely, Decaix and 
 Bogaert: the firll a bronzift, and a native of France; the other 
 a carver, and born in the Low Countries. And I need not add 
 how flow and tedious this fcarcity of workmen has rendered 
 the completion of my little colleftion. 
 
11 
 
 Under thefe numerous obftacles and difficulties, I have 
 hitherto been able to make but very little progrefs in my 
 attempts at improvement on the generally prevailing tafte of 
 decoration. I have hitherto fucceeded in embodying in wood 
 and metal, in imprinting in paper and on cotton, but a very 
 fmall portion of the later and more extended ideas which, in 
 the courfe of my firft and more reflrifted endeavours, I fuc- 
 ceffively was led to conceive. 
 
 Still, perceiving (and with unfeigned pleafure) that even 
 thefe few earlieft attempts at a melioration of tafte, rude and 
 imperfeft as they neceflarily remained in their modifications, 
 had neverthelefs already met with fufficient approbation from 
 the public at large, to induce feveral profeflional men, up- 
 holders, cabinet-makers, and others, to abandon in fome de- 
 gree the old beaten track, fo long unremittingly purfued, and 
 to attempt exhibiting, either in reality or in engravings, not 
 only a general approximation to the ftyle for which I wiflied 
 to introduce a tafte, but frequently a direbl imitation of the 
 individual objefts, of which I had planned the defigns for my 
 own exclufive ufe, I thought it might prove neither totally 
 unacceptable nor totally ufelefs, to publifli of thefe various 
 articles fome geometrical and other views, fufficiently faithful 
 and detailed to prevent a hafty furvey of the originals from 
 producing, inftead of judicious imitations, extravagant carica- 
 tures, fuch as of late have begun to ftart up in every corner 
 of this capital, and fuch as, by exhibiting the different fpecies 
 of ornament of which I have endeavoured to prefent fpeci- 
 
12 
 
 mens, moft wretchedly diftorted, mod injudicioufly applied, 
 and moft inconfiftently united, feem calculated for the foie 
 purpofe of bringing this new ftyle into complete difrepute 
 with thofe who, uninclined to give themfelves the trouble of 
 diftinguifliing between a new original and the paltry copies 
 which it never fails to produce, envelope in the fame general 
 undifcriminating cenfure and obloquy whatever their eyes have 
 not been accuftomed to behold, or their mind to comprehend. 
 
 Even this latter objedf however, namely, the faithfully 
 reprefenting the various articles which I had had executed, 
 was not as eafily accompliftied as might, at firft fight, be 
 imagined. 
 
 The mode of engraving beft calculated to render the 
 effedl, and to fiicilitate the imitation of objedts, whofe chief 
 merit confifts in the chaftity and the play of their contour, 
 is in mere outlines. This fpecies of engraving however, which 
 allows no blending tints of light and fliadow, introduced in 
 the body of the objeft reprefented, to remedy any uncertainty, 
 to palliate any tamenefs, or to glofs over any imperfeaion that 
 may have been left in the everywhere equally fenfible, equally 
 undifguifed outline, and which confequently requires in the 
 engraver all the maftery of the praftifed draughtfman, had 
 been woefully negleded in this country, where in general en- 
 gravers, contenting themfelves with copying the produftions 
 of painters by mere rule and compafs, polfefs not themfelves, 
 in the nobler art of drawing, any accuracy of eye and free- 
 dom of hand. 
 
13 
 
 Under thefe circumftances it was impoffible to meet, in 
 the line of engravers, with an artift, ready formed, by prior 
 praftice, to treat with fpirit in fimple outlines, objefts fo new 
 to the graver, fo different from thofe heretofore exhibited in 
 copper-plate, as the implements and the decorations in quef- 
 tion; with one who underftood giving to the numberlefs va- 
 rieties of foliage and of figures, which adorn every part and 
 enliven every detail, all that truth of nature, and all that fe- 
 leftion of art, all that real and all that ideal perfeftion, all 
 that correftnefs and all that grace, which fo effentially belong 
 to the bell antique performances, and to thofe modern works 
 that profefs to retrace their various excellencies. 
 
 Even where the germs of the peculiar fpecies of abilities, 
 requifite for this purpofe, happened to exift, they Hood in 
 need of a total new development, as yet unaccomplifhed, be- 
 fore the artift might be faid to be formed; and I flatter my- 
 felf that the infpeftion of my work, and the comparifon be- 
 tween fome of its earlier engravings and others of a later date, 
 will ftiew that this very colleftion, trifling as it may appear, 
 has not been entirely unproduftive of the beneficial efiedl of 
 cultivating a new defcription of art, fo urgently wanted, and 
 hitherto fo rarely poflelTed. At leaft I cannot fpeak too highly 
 in this refpedl of the exertions of Mr. Aikin and of Mr. Dawe, 
 to whofe afliftance I am chiefly indebted for the completion 
 of the plates which I here fubmit to the public. 
 
 Still could not, under all the exifting circumftances, the 
 moft fanguine difpolition flatter me with hopes of producing 
 
 E 
 
14 
 
 in London a work at all comparable, in point of elegance of 
 defigns and of excellence of execution, with that publication 
 which at prefent appears at Paris on a fimilar fubjeft, diredted 
 by an artift of my acquaintance, Percier, who, having pro- 
 feffionally devoted the firft portion of his career to the ftudy 
 of the antique chef-d’ceuvres in Italy, now devotes the latter 
 portion of his life to the fuperinten dance of modern objedls 
 of elegance and decoration in France; and who, uniting in 
 himfelf all the different talents of the antiquarian, the draughtf- 
 
 man, the modeller, and the engraver, has not only been en- 
 abled to invent and to defign the mofl; beautiful articles of 
 furniture, of cabinet-work, and of plate, but has ftill been 
 
 able, in many of the etchings which he himfelf has made 
 from his compofitions of this defcription, to improve, through 
 the freedom and the gracefulnefs of his touch, on the merit 
 of the original drawings; whereas, under a ftrange and a lefs 
 fldlful hand, the fpirit of the originals mufl have entirely 
 evaporated in the reprefentation. 
 
 The impoffibility, however, under which I felt myfelf, of 
 rendering the execution of my work adequate to the higheft 
 ideal which I might conceive, did not appear to me a fuffi- 
 cient motive for withholding a performance which, without 
 being reckoned fuperlatively excellent, might yet, perhaps, be 
 thought more or lefs ufeful; and I determined on ufliering 
 into light the prefent colleftion of plates, fuch as it was, 
 m hopes that an indulgent public would make fome allow- 
 ance for Its imperfedlions, in confideration of the many diffi- 
 
15 
 
 culties which prevented its receiving a greater degree of ex- 
 cellence. 
 
 The work might, perhaps, have been rendered more co- 
 pious and more Ihewy, by offering, in addition to the repre- 
 fentations of fuch pieces of furniture as aftually have been 
 executed, the defigns of fuch other more gaudy and more 
 fplendid articles of decoration, as hitherto could only have been 
 fubmitted in the charafter of mere projeds for future execu- 
 tion; but I thought that the colledion would remain more 
 deferring of reliance and of imitation, more fecure from the 
 objeftions fo eafily ftarted againll the pradlicability of what- 
 ever has not yet been aftually put in praftice, by being ex- 
 clulively confined, in its reprefentations, to objefts whofe effeft 
 had already been tried, and had been approved of. 
 
 I beg however to obferve that, though in general this effeft 
 is beft rendered, on paper, by a mere lineal engraving, this 
 circumftance is not univerfally the cafe. In many ornaments, 
 either very boldly projefting, or very deeply receding, much 
 of the beauty muff depend on the llrong contrail of the light 
 and of the ihaded parts. In many other fpecies of decora- 
 tion, deftitute of ftrong relief or chiaro-fcuro, fome part of 
 the elegance muff be founded on the harmonious blending, 
 or the gay oppofltion of the various colours. Neither of 
 thefe different fpecies of merit could have been expreffed 
 with any fuccefs in my work, otherwife than by enhancing 
 its price to fuch a degree as mull have defeated its principal 
 purpofe. 
 

 l6 
 
 In England much more attention is generally paid to the 
 perifhable implements of the ftable than to the lafting deco- 
 ration of the houfe; and it is therefore not impoffible that 
 many, even among thofe moll difpofed yearly to lavifli enor- 
 mous fums in the trifling and imperceptible changes which 
 every feafon produces in the conflirudlion of the tranfient ve- 
 hicle, may molt ftrongly objeft to the expenfivenefs of the 
 infinitely more important and more palpable improvements, 
 of which is fufceptible the more permanent fixture. To fuch 
 it would be eafy to prove, that the mode of decorating apart- 
 ments, hitherto in vogue, which, through the paltrinefs of its 
 materials, and the flightnefs of its texture, is fubjeft to expe- 
 rience fuch fpeedy decay, and (what is worfe) through the 
 poverty of its forms, and the unmeaningnefs of its embellilh- 
 ments, is liable to occaflon fuch rapid difgult; and which, 
 confequently, is ufually broken or difcarded, long ere it has 
 had leifure fairly to ferve its time, though at firlt its coll be 
 lefs, yet, by means of the incelTant change of fafhion which 
 it flimulates and fupports, on the whole, occafions a much 
 greater expenfe than the flyle of furniture here fet forth; 
 which, little fufceptible of experiencing premature dellruc- 
 tion, for want of due folidity of form, and lefs liable, it 
 is prefumed, than the former, to fuffer merited dil^ace, 
 while yet in all its frelhnefs of youth, for want of intrinfic 
 power to pleafe, may be preferved in families, from genera- 
 tion to generation, as a valuable portion of the patrimonial 
 ellate. 
 
17 
 
 Had this work been more meritorious than I have been 
 enabled to render it, Hill Ihould I have urged the young artift, 
 into whofe hands it may fall, as I now do, moft ftrenuoufly, to 
 confider it as publilhed rather with the view to give a vague 
 idea of what has, hitherto, with imperfeft means, been re- 
 ftridedly and haftily elfeded, in a new line of induftry and 
 talle, than with the intention of offering fpecific models of 
 what fliould, in future, by greater ftudy and application, be, 
 in this new line, more extenfively and more permanently 
 executed ; ftill Ihould I have warned him moft earneftly againft 
 confining his exertions to a mere fervile copying of the con- 
 tents of this volume. 
 
 Such a proceeding as that againft which he is here cau- 
 tioned, could only make him continue to move, as he has too 
 much done heretofore, in an eternal round of undeviating 
 famenefs. To emerge from this fervile track, to take a higher 
 flight, he fhould not flop his progrefs at the ftudy of my 
 humble publication; he fliould afcend to thofe higher, thofe 
 more copious fources of elegance, whence I myfelf have 
 drawn all my ideas, and which alone can offer an inex- 
 hauftible ftore of ever varied and ever novel beauties, I 
 mean, in the firft place, thofe produftions of Nature herfelf, 
 animate or inanimate, which contain the firft elements and 
 the firft models of all the perfeftions of art; and, in the fe- 
 cond place, thofe monuments of antiquity which fliew the 
 mode in which the forms of nature may be moft happily 
 adapted to the various exigencies of art. 
 
18 
 
 I lliall now proceed to give a Ihort explanation of the 
 chief contents of each Plate: here and there fubjoining to 
 this account fuch few additional obfervations, fuggefled by 
 the objefts defcribed, as I think may be of moll general 
 utility. 
 
19 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 The border which furrounds the title-page is copied from 
 the frame of a pifture, reprefenting a Turkifh perfonage. 
 The mouldings of this pifture-frame offer an imitation of a 
 fpecies of ornament, refembling congelations and ftalaftites, 
 which feems to owe its invention to the Grecian architedls 
 of the lower empire, and which is remarkable for the play, 
 or rather the flicker, of light and lhade, which it derives from 
 the fliarpnefs of its multifarious angles, and from the re- 
 flexion of its numerous facets. At Conftantinople this Angular 
 and not inelegant fpecies of ornament adorns, in an inflnite 
 variety of modiflcation, the capitals, the entablatures, the 
 niches, and the gateways, of moft of the Greek churches and 
 Mohammedan mofques, defigned by Grecian builders. From 
 that principal feat of arts and of refinement, during the middle 
 ages, its fafhion feems to have extended in every direftion, 
 throughout Europe, Afia, and Africa. It forms a confpicuous 
 feature in almoft all the fplendid Saracenic monuments of 
 Arabia, of Egypt, and of Perfia. Weftward it reached as far 
 as Spain, where it adorns the palaces of the Alhambra and of 
 the Generalifa at Seville, and the mofque at Cordova; and 
 eaflward it travelled as far as India, where it decorates every 
 
20 
 
 Moorifti building of any importance. Even in the north of 
 Europe fome rude imitations of this ornament are difcernihle 
 in the facred and other ftruftures, known by the name of 
 opus Romanum; that offspring of the already corrupt Gre- 
 cian architedure which prevailed at Conllantinople, ftill more 
 degenerate than its parent. In England the copy of the 
 earlier and Ample modifications of this fpecies of ornament 
 may be traced, under the appellation of zig-zags, of chevrons, 
 of billets, &c. in moft of the oldeff cathedrals whofe archi- 
 tefture has, till very lately, improperly been denominated 
 Saxon. 
 
 A profile of this pi6lure-frame is given in the Plate 52, No. 1, 
 but it fhould be obferved that, from the circumftance of the 
 varied projeftions and receffes which its mouldings offer. 
 Hoping in every direftion, their profile muff be different in 
 every point of fpace which intervenes between each periodical 
 return of the fame forms. 
 
21 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 STATUE GALLERY. 
 
 As this room is deftined folely for the reception of ancient 
 marbles, the walls are left perfedlly plain, in order that the 
 back-ground, againft which are placed the llatues, might 
 olfer no inferior ornaments, or breaks, capable of interfering, 
 through their outline, with the contour of more important 
 works of art. The ceiling admits the light through three 
 lanterns, and is divided into calToons by means of rafters, 
 which imitate a light timber covering. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 PICTURE GALLERY. 
 
 In this room the center part of the ceiling is fupported by 
 fmall columns, which divide the lights, and which are imi- 
 tated from thofe that are feen at Athens, in the upper divi- 
 lion of the oftagon building, vulgarly called the temple of the 
 Winds. Thefe columns reft on mafly beams, limilar to thofe 
 in marble, which lie acrofs the periftyle of the temple of 
 Thefeus, alfo at Athens. The larger columns which fupport 
 the entablature offer the profiles of thofe of the Propylaea. 
 
 G 
 
22 
 
 Along each fide of this room extends a cornice, from 
 which are fufpended curtains, dellined occafionally to proteft 
 from the fun the feveral compartments of pidtures, hung 
 againft the walls; and thefe curtains are here reprefented as 
 aftually let down over the pidtures. 
 
 At the farther end of this gallery ftands an organ, the 
 Ionic order of whofe columns, entablature, and pediment, has 
 been copied from the exquifitely beautiful Ipecimen difplayed 
 in the temple of Eredlheus, in tire Acropolis of Athens. The 
 car of the god of mufic, of Apollo, glides over the center of 
 the pediment. The tripods, facred to this deity, furmount 
 the angles. Laurel wreaths and other emblems, belonging 
 to the fon of Latona, appear embroidered on the drapery, 
 which, in the form of an ancient peplum or veil, defcends 
 over the pipes of the inftrument, and gives it the appearance 
 of a fandtuary. 
 
 Large tables, deftined for portfolios of drawings and books 
 of prints, occupy the middle of this gallery, and a few an- 
 tique implements and remains are placed along its fides. 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 ROOM CONTAINING GREEK FICTILE VASES. 
 
 As thefe vafes were all found in tombs, fome, elpecially of 
 the fmaller fort, have been placed in receffes, imitating the 
 ancient Columbaria, or receptacles of Cinerary urns. As they 
 
23 
 
 relate chiefly to the Bacchanalian rites, which were partly 
 connefted with the reprefentations of myftic death and re- 
 generation, others, of a larger fize, have been fituated in com- 
 partments, divided by terms, furmounted with heads of the 
 Indian or bearded Bacchus. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 SECOND ROOM CONTAINING GREEK VASES. 
 
 The fcenic matk, the Thyrfus, twined round with ivy 
 wreaths, the panther’s muzzle and claw, together with other 
 infignia of Bacchus, decorate in feveral places the furniture 
 of this room. A range of rounded reeds fupports the lower 
 tier of flielves; ranges of fquare rafters fuftain the two upper 
 tiers. 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 THIRD ROOM CONTAINING GREEK VASES. 
 
 A table fupported by chimieras in bronze, fimilar to fome 
 limbs of ideal animals, adapted to the fame purpofe, which 
 have been found among the remains of Pompeia; a bronze 
 lamp, bronze candelabra, and a few other utenfils, of a quiet 
 hue and of a fepulchral call, analogous to the chief contents 
 of this room, form the principal ornaments which accompany 
 the vafes. 
 
24 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 DRAWING-ROOM. 
 
 This room was principally fitted up for the reception of 
 four large piftures, executed by Mr. Daniel, and reprefenting 
 buildings in India, of Moorifh architefture. Some part of the 
 arrangement and decoration of the room were, for this rea- 
 fon, borrowed from the Saracenic flyle ; though, from the un- 
 avoidable intermixture of other produftions of art, of a totally 
 different charafter with the piftures aforementioned, it was 
 impofiible to adhere to the Moorifli flyle in the greater part 
 of the detail. 
 
 A low fofa, after the eaflern fafhion, fills the corners of 
 this room. Its ceiling, imitated from thofe prevailing in 
 Turkifh palaces, confifts of a canopy of trellice-work, or reeds, 
 tied together with ribbons. The border and the compart- 
 ments of this ceiling difplay foliage, flowers, peacock’s fea- 
 thers, and other ornaments of a rich hue, and of a delicate 
 texture, which, from the liglitnefs of their weight, feem pe- 
 culiarly adapted for this lofty and fufpended fituation. Perfian 
 carpets cover the floor. 
 
 As the colours of this room, in compliance with the ori- 
 ental tafle, are everywhere very vivid, and very flrongly con- 
 tiafted, due attention has been paid to their gradually light- 
 ening, as the eye rofe from the fkirting to the cornice. The 
 tint of the fofa is deep crimfon; that of the walls fky blue; 
 
PC s. 
 
25 
 
 and that of the ceiling pale yellow, intermixed with azure 
 and with fea green. Ornaments of gold, in various fliades, 
 relieve and harmonize thefe colours. Round the room are 
 placed incenfe urns, caflblettes, flower balkets, and other 
 vehicles of natural and artificial perfumes. 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 The central objefil in this room is a fine marble group, 
 executed by Mr. Flaxman, and reprefenting Aurora vifiting 
 Cephalus on mount Ida. The whole furrounding decoration 
 has been rendered, in fome degree, analogous to thefe per- 
 fonages, and to the face of nature at the moment when the 
 firft of the two, the goddefs of the morn, is fuppofed to an- 
 nounce approaching day. Round the bottom of the room 
 ftill reign the emblems of night. In the rail of a black 
 marble table are introduced medallions of the god of fleep 
 and of the goddefs of night. The bird confecrated to the 
 latter deity perches on the pillars of a black marble chimney- 
 piece, whofe broad frieze is ftudded with golden liars. The 
 fides of the room difplay, in fatin curtains, draped in ample 
 folds over pannels of looking-glafs, and edged with black 
 velvet, the fiery hue which fringes the clouds juft before fun- 
 rife: and in a ceiling of cooler fky blue are fown, amidft a 
 few ftill unextinguilhed luminaries of the night, the rofes 
 which the harbinger of day, in her courfe, fpreads on every 
 fide around her. 
 
 H 
 
20 
 
 The pedeftal of the group offers the torches, the garlands, 
 the wreaths, and the other infignia belonging to the millrefs 
 of Cephalus, difpofed around the fatal dart of which Ihe made 
 her lover a prefent. The broad band which girds the top of 
 the room, contains medallions of the ruddy goddefs and of 
 the Phrygian youth, intermixed with the inftruments and the 
 emblems of tire chace, his favourite amufement. Figures of 
 the youthful hours, adorned with wreaths of foliage, adorn 
 part of the furniture, which is chiefly gilt, in order to give 
 more relief to the azure, the black, and the orange compart- 
 ments of the hangings. 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 Happening to poffefs feveral Egyptian antiquities, wrought 
 in varioufly coloured materials, fuch as granite, ferpentine, 
 porphyry, and bafalt, of which neither the hue nor the work- 
 manfhip would have well accorded with thofe of my Greek 
 ftatues, chiefly executed in white marble alone, I thought it 
 beft to fegregate thefe former, and to place them in a feparate 
 room, of which the decoration fliould, in its charadter, bear 
 fome analogy to that of its contents. Accordingly, the orna- 
 ments that adorn the walls of this little canopus are, partly, 
 taken from Egyptian fcrolls of papyrus; thofe that embellifli 
 the ceiling, from Egyptian mummy cafes; and the prevail- 
 ing colours of both, as well as of the furniture, are that pale 
 yellow and that blueilh green which hold fo confpicuous a 
 
PI 9 
 
27 
 
 rank among the Egyptian pigments; here and there relieved 
 by mafles of black and of gold. 
 
 Let me however avail myfelf of the defcription of this 
 room, to urge young artifts never to adopt, except from mo- 
 tives more weighty than a mere aim at novelty, the Egyptian 
 flyle of ornament. The hieroglyphic figures, fo univerfally 
 employed by the Egyptians, can afford us little pleafure on 
 account of their meaning, fince this is feldom intelligible; 
 they can afford us ftill lefs gratification on account of their 
 outline, fince this is never agreeable; at leaft in as far as 
 regards thofe finaller details, which alone are fufceptible of 
 being introduced in our confined fpaces. Real Egyptian mo- 
 numents, built of the hardeft materials, cut out in the moll 
 prodigious blocks, even where they pleafe not the eye, through 
 the elegance of their lhapes, llill amaze the intelledl, through 
 the immenfity of their fize, and the indeffrudlibility of their 
 nature. Modern imitations of thofe wonders of antiquity, 
 compofed of lath and of plafter, of callico and of paper, offer 
 no one attribute of folidity or grandeur to compenfate for 
 their want of elegance and grace, and can only excite ridicule 
 and contempt. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 Sideboard adorned with emblems of Bacchus and of 
 Ceres. Cellaret ornamented with amphorae and with figures, 
 allufive to the liquid element. To the right, a Hoping altar 
 
28 
 
 or pedeftal, furmounted by a vafe. To the left, a lofty can- 
 delabrum, deftined to fupport a torch. On the table, a vafe 
 with Bacchanalian marks, placed between two caflblettes: 
 over the fame a pifture, reprefenting a Bacchanalian pro- 
 ceffion ; the pidlure-frame of mahogany and gold, llrengthened 
 at the corners by metal gilt clafps. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 Clofet or boudoir fitted up for the reception of a few 
 Egyptian, Hindoo, and Chinefe idols and curiofities. The 
 fides of this Lararium are formed of pillars, and the top of 
 laths, of bamboo. Over thefe hangs a cotton drapery, in the 
 form of a tent. One end of this tabernacle is open, and dif- 
 plays a mantle-piece in the lhape of an Egyptian portico, 
 which, by being placed againfi; a back ground of looking-glafs, 
 appears entirely infulated. On the fteps of this portico are 
 placed idols, and in its furface are inferted bas-reliefs. 
 
 PLATE XL 
 
 No. 1 and 2. Front and end of a large library or writing- 
 table, flanked with paper prefles, or efcrutoirs. The tops that 
 terminate thefe prelfes prefent the fliape of ancient Greek 
 houfe roofs. Their extremities or pediments contain the 
 heads of the patron and patronefs of fcience, of Apollo and 
 of Minerva. 
 
29 
 
 No. 3 and 4. Front and fide of an arm-chair. 
 
 No. 5. Flat cup of roffo antico, placed on tripod of 
 bronze: bronze ornaments round the triangular pedeftal. For 
 the plan of this pedeftal fee Plate 54, No. 3. 
 
 Many of the infulated ornaments, which adorn the various 
 objefts of ufe and of decoration, in wood and ftone, here re- 
 prefented, are in bronze, left limply to exhibit its own green 
 patina. Thefe ornaments in bronze, which, being call, may, 
 wherever a frequent repetition of the fame forms is required, 
 be wrought at a much cheaper rate than ornaments in other 
 materials, only producible through the more tedious procefs 
 of carving; which, moreover, may be indifcriminately affixed 
 to objedls in wood, or ftone, or metal, or porcelaine, or any 
 other; which, thirdly, when once placed, feem liable to little 
 or no injury or difcolouring either from the effedls of weather 
 or wear, of carriage or dirt; which, in the fourth place, no- 
 wife irretrievably cohering with the body of the objefl, on 
 whofe furface they are fituated, may, either on a renewal or 
 a change of habitation, be taken off things become ufelefs or 
 decayed, however long they have adhered to the fame, and 
 be applied to new objedls; and which, finally, on a defire to 
 increafe the richnefs of their appearance, may, however long 
 they have ferved in their green and naked ftate, ftill affume 
 a richer garb, be gilt and be burnifhed, feem, in a country 
 where fuel is lefs expenfive than hands, and where the at- 
 mofphere, charged with damp and with fmoke, is feldom pure, 
 preferable to fculptured ornaments, whofe original fabrication. 
 
 I 
 
30 
 
 in any quantities, is more expeniive; whofe texture is more 
 brittle; whofe hue is more delicate; which, eafily difcoloured, 
 and eafily broken, are difficult to clean, and more difficult to 
 mend; and which, laftly, never fufceptible of being fevered 
 from the objeft to which they belong, muft follow its fate, 
 and perifh with the fame. 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
 No. 1 and 2. End and front of a table. 
 
 No. 3, 4, and 5. Different ftools. 
 
 No. 6 and 7. End and front of a table. 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 
 No. 1 and 2. End and front of a table, in the boudoir, or 
 repofitory of Egyptian, Hindoo, and other curiofities. 
 
 No. 3. Front of a table, in the room dedicated to Aurora. 
 Females, emblematic of the four horae or parts of the day, 
 fupport its rail, the frieze of which contains medallions of 
 the deities of night and fleep. On the table ftands a clock, 
 carried by a figure of Ifis, or the moon, adorned with her 
 crefcent. 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 
 No. 1. Fire fcreen. A profile of the fame fcreen may be 
 feen in Plate 50, No. 3. 
 

31 
 
 No. 2. Pedeftal, belonging to the group of Aurora and 
 Cephalus, and adorned with ornaments, emblematic of thefe 
 perfonages; fuch as torches, flowers, a dart, a diadem of 
 ftars, and the head of Jupiter Serapis or Pluto, figurative of 
 death. 
 
 No. 3 and 4. Front and profile of a dreffing-glafs. 
 PLATE XV. 
 
 No. 1. Tripod table, fupported by chimaeras. A plan of 
 this table is found in Plate 54, No. 1. 
 
 No. 2. End of a table, belonging to the mufic room, and 
 adorned with an antique lyre. 
 
 No. 3. Table, on which ftands a glazed cafe or fliade, be- 
 tween two candlellicks. 
 
 No. 4 and 5. Front and end of a table, under which is 
 introduced a flower bafltet. 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 No. 1. Chimney-piece in black marble, belonging to the 
 Aurora room, and decorated with emblems of night in gilt 
 bronze. 
 
 No. 2. Table, belonging to the Egyptian room. On this 
 table ftands, between two Egyptian mdiculae, containing idols, 
 and fupporting Canopufes, a cup of bafalt. Under the table 
 lies a lion of the fame material. 
 
32 
 
 PLATE XVII. 
 
 No. 1 and 2. Front and end of a glazed cafe, containing 
 a fmall mummy, and of the doping or pyramidic pedeftal 
 which fupports this cafe. Within this pedeftal, which is per- 
 forated, Hands an antique cinerary urn of Egyptian or oriental 
 alabafter. Two feated figures of priefts, wearing mafks of va- 
 rious animals, guard the entrance: over which hovers a winged 
 Ids, emblematic of the immortality of the foul. 
 
 No. 3 and 4. Front and end of fettees, belonging to the 
 Egyptian room. 
 
 No. 5. Bronze tripod, with hinges and Aiders, made to 
 take to pieces and to fold up, after the manner of ancient 
 tripods. 
 
 PLATE XVIII. 
 
 No. 1. Mantle-piece: the bas reliefs on the jambs repre- 
 fent candelabra, furmounted by pine cones, like thofe ufed in 
 Italy to light fires. 
 
 No. 2. Pole fire fcreen, in the fhape of a Roman diield, 
 adorned with Jove’s fulmen, as wrought by the Cyclops. 
 
 “ Tris imbris torti radios, tris nubis aquofse, 
 
 “Addiderant; rutili tris ignis, et alitis auftri.” 
 
 A5n. lib. 8. 
 
No. 3 and 4. Front and fide view of a deep arm-chair, 
 adorned with a chimaera, copied from a farcophagus in the 
 colledtion of Prince Brafchi at Rome. 
 
 The correfponding chair is adorned with a griffin, copied 
 from the fame farcophagus. 
 
 No. 5. Settee belonging to the Lararium. Its frieze con- 
 tains, in fmall, the figures of the twelve great gods of the 
 Greeks and Romans, as reprefented in the old ftiff ftyle of 
 workmanfliip, round the Bocca di pozzo, in the Capitol. 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 
 No. 1. Tripod table. 
 
 No. 2. Settee. 
 
 No. 3 and 4. Chairs. 
 
 No. 5. Round table. 
 
 No. 6 and 7 . Front and fide view of Hone feats, adorned 
 with fphinxes and Lotus flowers. 
 
 No. 1. Side of a table. 
 
 No. 2. End of the fame table. 
 
 No. 3 and 4. Front and fide of an arm-chair, after the 
 manner of the ancient curule chairs. 
 
 No. 5 and 6 . Front and fide of an arm-chair. 
 
34 
 
 PLATE XXL 
 
 Stand of bronze and gold, fupporting a large fea-green 
 China bowl, adorned with the meander and the Lotus flower. 
 The ornaments of this Hand, fuch as the Iris, the water-leaf, 
 and the fwans, are chiefly borrowed from the aquatic reign. 
 
 PLATE XXII. 
 
 No. 1 and 3. Two views of a tea-table, with very pro- 
 jefting horizontal handles. Under this tea-table, on a tablet 
 fupported by pheafant’s feet, ending in a fcroll. Hands a tea- 
 cheft with perpendicular handles. 
 
 No. 3. Tripod table. 
 
 No. 4. Bronze candelabrum. 
 
 No. 5 and 6. Front and fide of a large arm-chair. 
 
 PLATE XXIII. 
 
 Upright piano-forte. Two genii, contending for a wreath 
 form a group round the key-hole. 
 
 PLATE XXIV. 
 
 No. 1. End of a narrow pier table, from the rail of which 
 hangs a broad fringe, carved in wood. 
 
T^- 
 
 35 
 
 No. 2 and 3. Mahogany chairs, inlaid in metal and 
 ebony. 
 
 Thefe fpecies of inlayings in metal, on a ground of ebony 
 or dyed wood, feem peculiarly adapted to the nature of the 
 mahogany furniture fo much in ufe in this country, which 
 they enliven, without preventing it, by any raifed ornaments, 
 from being conllantly rubbed, and kept free from dull and 
 dirt. At Paris they have been carried to a great degree of 
 elegance and perfeftion. The metal ornament, and the ground 
 of llained wood in which it is inferted, being, there, llamped 
 together, and cut out, through dint of the fame Angle me- 
 chanical procefs, they are always fure of fitting each other to 
 the greatell degree of nicety. 
 
 See Plate 20, No. 6, a fide view of the chair. No. 3. 
 
 No. 4. Wine cooler, in the fliape of an antique bath or 
 lavacrum. 
 
 No. 5. Candelabrum, compofed of a Lotus flower iffuing 
 from a bunch of oflrich feathers. 
 
 No. 6. Pedeflals belonging to a fideboard; imitated from 
 an Etrufcan altar in the villa Borghefe. 
 
 For the plan of this pedeflal fee Plate 55, No. 2. 
 
 I 
 
 PLATE XXV. 
 
 No. 1. Stool. 
 
 No. 2. Tripod table. For the plan of this table fee 
 Plate 55, No. 5. 
 
 1 
 
 :iiH 
 
 |l 
 
 
 
36 
 
 No. 3. Mantle-piece of white marble, ftudded with bronze 
 ornaments. The candelabrum placed between two Mythriac 
 figures, and the heads of Vella and of Vulcan are emblematic 
 of the worlhip of fire. 
 
 No. 4. Side view- of a chair. 
 
 No. 5. Little round monopodium or Hand, of which the 
 top, through means of a Aider and a fcrew, is capable of being 
 raifed or lowered at pleafure. 
 
 PLATE XXVI. 
 
 No. 1 and 2. Two chairs. 
 
 No. 3. Front view of a table, on which Hands a vafe, be- 
 tween two tripods. 
 
 No. 4. Box or coffer, imitated from an ancient farco- 
 phagus of verde antico, at prefent ferving as a fountain of 
 ablution in the fmall mofque, called Kliftie Dgiamee, at Con- 
 llantinople. 
 
 No. 5 and 6. Side views of two mahogany chairs. No. 5 
 is the fide view of the chair, Plate 24, No. 3. 
 
 No. 7. End of a table. 
 
 No. 8 and g. Settee. The ends are copied from a fine 
 antique chimaera of marble, in the Audio of Cavaceppi at 
 Rome. 
 

PLATE XXVII. 
 
 No. I. Receffes in the fliape of ancient hypogea, or niches 
 for cinerary urns, deflined for the reception of fmall fepul- 
 chral vafes. 
 
 No. 2. Frame, containing a pifture in enamel, reprefent- 
 ing a fleeping Venus, furrounded by Cupids. The top or pe- 
 diment of this frame is adorned with medallions of the god- 
 defs and of Mars. Its jambs or pilallers are ornamented with 
 figures of dancing nymphs, holding up wreaths of myrde. 
 
 PLATE XXVIII. 
 
 No. 1. Candelabrum deftined to carry a torch. 
 
 No. 2 and 3 . Side and end of a couch; a greyhound lies 
 watching on the footboard, after the manner of fimilar ani- 
 mals on Gothic farcophagi. 
 
 No. 4 and 5 . Front and profile of a fire fcreen, with 
 wings to draw out. 
 
 No. 6 and 7. Side and end of a couch, fhaped like the 
 ancient Triclinia : a leopard’s fkin thrown over the feat. 
 
 No. 1. Folding flool, with ram’s head and hoof extremi- 
 ties : loofe drapery thrown over the feat. 
 
 
38 
 
 No. 2. Folding ftool, formed of antique fwords, crolTed. 
 
 No. 3. Bedftead of mahogany and bronze. The pilafters 
 ornamented with figures of Night, rifing on her crefcent, and 
 fpreading her poppies. 
 
 No. 4. Toilet Hand for ewer and bafon. Sea monllers 
 and other aquatic emblems round the frieze. 
 
 No. 5. End of the fofa in the room, Plate 5. 
 
 PLATE XXX. 
 
 Chandelier of bronze and gold; ornamented with a crown 
 of ftars over a wreath of night-fliade. 
 
 PLATE XXXI. 
 
 Old China jar, of a rich purple hue, mounted in or- 
 moulu. 
 
 PLATE XXXII. 
 
 No. 1. Tripod table, in mahogany and gold. 
 
 No. 2. Plan of the fame. 
 
 PLATE XXXIII. 
 
 Dreffing-table, in mahogany and gold, fupported by heads 
 and claws of Sphinxes: vafe of alabafter placed on the table. 
 


n.3s. 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 |H| 
 
 II 
 
 H 
 
 
 ] 
 
 3 
 
 Tmynert.Hiint.7lMt IMntJhhrmvtrrWir 
 
 J 
 
 f 
 

30 
 
 PLATE XXXIV. 
 
 Vale of bronze and gold; fliape and handles copied from 
 a Greek vafe of white marble in the mufeum at Portici. A 
 group of Apollo Citharaedus, and Genius, borrowed from a 
 bas-relief in the Britilh Mufeum, together with other emblems 
 of Apollo, ornament this vafe. 
 
 PLATE XXXV. 
 
 Vafe of bronze and gold, of the llime thape as the former, 
 and intended as a companion to the fame, but ornamented 
 with Bacchanalian malks, vine wreaths, and other emblems 
 of Bacchus. 
 
 PLATE XXXVI. 
 
 Side view of the vafe, Plate 35. 
 
 PLATE XXXVII. 
 
 Comic and tragic malks, of Silenus, of Bacchante, of Juno, 
 and of Hercules, taken from antique ornaments. 
 
 PLATE XXXVIII. 
 
 No. 1. Bottom of bronze lamp, in the room, Plate 5. 
 No. 2 and 3. Mofaic borders of floor and ceiling. 
 
PLATE XXXIX. 
 
 Top and elevation of a round monopodium or table in 
 mahogany, inlaid in ebony and lilver. 
 
 PLATE XL. 
 
 No. 1. Vafe of alabafter. 
 
 No. 2 and 3. Side and front of a ftool; the elbows formed 
 by fwans, on a plinth ornamented with the Grecian fcroll, 
 emblematic of waves. 
 
 No. 4. Dreffmg-table, fupported by female terms, copied 
 from the Inllitute at Bologna. 
 
 No. 5. Pifture frame. 
 
 No. 6. Side view of a chair. 
 
 PLATE XLI. 
 
 No. 1. Ornament of the corner tiles on the pediment of 
 the library table, Plate 11, No. 1. 
 
 No. 2. Ornament of the femi-circular tiles on the roof or 
 top of the library table, Plate 11, No. 2. 
 
 No. 3. Ornament of the corner tiles on the pediment of 
 the dreffing-glafs, Plate 14, No. 3. 
 
 No. 4. End of the clafps of the tea-chell, under the tea- 
 table, Plate 22, No. 2. 
 

 

41 
 
 No. 5. Chain belonging to the bronze lamp, in the room 
 Plate 5. 
 
 No. 6 . Top of the legs which fupport the caffolettes on 
 the fideboard, Plate 9 . 
 
 No. 7 . Capital of the pilafters belonging to the dreffing- 
 glafs, Plate 14, No. 3 . 
 
 No. 8 . Rofette, on the cover of the bronze and gold vafes. 
 Plates 34, 35, and 30. 
 
 No. g. Capital of the pilafters belonging to the fettee, 
 Plate 26 , No. 8 and g. 
 
 No. 10 . Ancient drinking-horn. 
 
 No. 11 . Ornament formed of a fwan carrying a malk; in- 
 troduced in the caffolettes on the fideboard, Plate 9 . 
 
 No. 12 . Claw fupporting a plinth. 
 
 No. 13. Ornament in the frieze of the table, Plate 15, 
 No. 4. 
 
 No. 14. Ornament in the frieze of the library table, 
 Plate 11 , No. 2 . 
 
 No. 15. Other ornament in ditto. 
 
 PLATE XLII. 
 
 Elevation and plan of a bronze gilt chandelier, ornamented 
 with drops, prifms, &c. of cut glafs. 
 
 M 
 
42 
 
 PLATE XLIII. 
 
 No. 1. Sconce or girandole for four lights, in bronze and 
 gold. 
 
 No. 2. Profile of ditto. 
 
 No. 3. Other fconce or girandole for four lights. 
 
 The artificial lights, which our habitations require at night, 
 in order to render the furrounding objedls vilible, cannot be 
 prevented from themfelves, in fome meafure, becoming the 
 predominant vifible objeft. Hence the greateft attention Ihould 
 be adhibited to place, not only the different groups, but the 
 different lights compofing each group, in fuch exadt fym- 
 metry with regard to each other, as may prevent their pre- 
 fenting, in any point of view, an indiflindt and confufed glare. 
 Cluftered and often zig-zagged as are the branches of the 
 girandoles, in moft of our public places and private rooms, 
 the lights which they carry not only diffufe lefs general fplen- 
 dour, but look individually lefs diftinft and lefs grand, than 
 if they were made to range on long horizontal lines, at equal 
 diltances from each other. 
 
 PLATE XLIV. 
 
 End view of a cradle in mahogany, ornamented in gilt 
 bronze, with emblems of night, of fleep, of dreams, and of 
 hope. 
 



43 
 
 PLATE XLV. 
 
 Elevation of a folding door, fliewing different ways in 
 which the compartments or pannels may be ornamented. 
 
 At Florence I was much flruck with the grandeur which 
 the doors of the Ufficii, and of other public buildings, derived 
 from the equal divifion of their compartments, and from the 
 number of large brafs nail-heads with which the intervals be- 
 tween thefe compartments were Itudded round. At Rome 
 alfo I was much pleafed with the magnificent fimplicity which 
 the door-ways of moft handfome apartments prefented, in con- 
 fequence of their frames being a Ample flat and broad band, 
 either compofed of, or reprefenting fome rich marble. This 
 fafhion might, I conceive, be imitated in this country, where 
 the leaves of doors, in mahogany, ftudded with gilt nails, 
 and their frames, in fcagliola, would have a peculiarly rich 
 and beautiful effeft. 
 
 PLATE XLVI. 
 
 No. ]. Mantle-piece of black marble, copied from the 
 facade of a fepulchral chamber, hewn in the folid body of a 
 perpendicular rock, on the coafl; of ancient Lycia, and on the 
 fpot where formerly flood the city of Anti-phellos, mentioned 
 by Strabo. It reprefents a facade or fcreen of rude and mafly 
 timber-work, in which may be difcerned the upright polls, 
 the tranfverfe beams, the rafters, the wedges, and the bolts. 
 
44 
 
 This mantle-piece is in the Egyptian room, Plate 8. 
 The ornaments on its Ihelf and on its fender have been co- 
 pied from Egyptian idols and bas-reliefs, partly exifting in 
 the Capitol and in the Vatican, and partly reprefented in the 
 plates of the Herculaneum colleftion and of Denon’s work. 
 
 No. 2 and 3. Front and fide view of a large arm-chair, 
 in the Egyptian room, Plate 8. The crouching priefts fup- 
 porting the elbows are copied from an Egyptian idol in the 
 Vatican; the winged Ifis placed in the rail is borrowed from 
 an Egyptian mummy-cafe in the Inflitute at Bologna; the 
 Canopufes are imitated from the one in the Capitol; and the 
 other ornaments are taken from various monuments at Thebes, 
 Tentyris, &c. 
 
 PLATE XLVII. 
 
 Group, compofed of various utenfils, fuch as a cup, a vafe, 
 an ewer, a calferole, an ice pail, a ragout difli, and a fugar 
 bafon, executed partly in filver and partly in bronze. 
 
 The wide and flat bottom, exhibited by the ice pail here 
 reprefented, is prefumed to offer a fhape more appropriate to 
 the purpofes of that fpecies of veflfel, than the long neck or 
 ftalk, and the contrafiled bottom, difplayed by the generality 
 of ice pails ufed in England, which are nothing more than imi- 
 tations of a tall and flender flower pot. This more capacious 
 and more lieady form offers at once more room for ice round 
 the bottom of the decanter, is lefs liable to the danger of being 
 upfet, and raifes the decanter lefs above the level of the arm. 
 
LVU 
 

45 
 
 plate xlviii. 
 
 No. 1 . Mantle-piece, with various ornaments. 
 
 No. 2 and 3. Vafes and cippufes of dilferent marbles, 
 copied from antiques in the Albani and Barbarini coUee- 
 tions. 
 
 PLATE XLIX. 
 
 Group, compofed of various utenfils in filver and in 
 bronze; namely, a vafe, a tea urn, an ewer, a candleftick, 
 and a cafket. 
 
 PLATE L. 
 
 No. 1. Mantle-piece, belonging to the eating-room, to 
 which belongs the fideboard reprefented Plate Q. 
 
 The flab or fhelf of this mantle-piece is very wide and 
 projefting; and the ftiles or jambs are made to Hope down- 
 wards, in the manner of brackets; as may be feen in the 
 profile of the mantle-piece, given in the next plate. Over 
 the mantle-piece projedt two antique horfes heads, in al- 
 lufion to the name of infcribed on the buft placed 
 
 between them. Bacchanalian mafks adorn the jambs. 
 
 No. 2 and 3. Candelabra, or Hands: the one furmounted 
 by an ewer, the other by a flower bafket, in gilt bronze. 
 
 N 
 
46 
 
 I avail myfelf of the occafion of the bull reprefented in 
 this plate, to notice an error of talle, into which have fallen 
 fome Englilh fculptors : no doubt in imitation of the French 
 fculptors of the lall centuiy; fmce the pradice which I al- 
 lude to feems fandioned by no ancient example whatever, of 
 a pure llyle of art. I mean the falhion of reprefenting, in a 
 bull, the head, not looking llrait forward, and in the fame 
 diredion with the chell, but turned over the Ihoulder, and 
 looking tideways : a polition which, except in the bulls of 
 Caracalla, no longer belonging to the pure llyle of ancient 
 art, is, I believe, found in no ancient bulls, that did not ori- 
 ginally form part of entire llatues, and are only preferred as 
 fragments of fuch. 
 
 In a produdion of the pencil, which can only exhibit a 
 face in a fingle afped, if the moll llriking or mofl favourable 
 view of that face be not a dired front view, there may, in 
 the eligibility of bringing the features more in profile, be a 
 very good reafon for turning the head fomewhat over the 
 Ihoulder. Nay, even in a work of the chiffel, if it be an entire 
 llatue, the peculiar attitude or adtion of the body may pre- 
 fent a fufficient motive for giving fuch a turn to the head. 
 But if a mere bull, which we may eafily view in every pof- 
 fible afped, by ourfelves moving round it, in place of being 
 allowed to leave this talk entirely to the beholder, be made 
 itfelf to turn its face away from our fight, though it have not 
 a body, to account for this lefs eafy and lefs ufual pofition 
 of the head, the portrait lofes aU claim to naturalnefs and 
 
? 1 . 52 . 
 

 
47 
 
 touth; It forfeits the appearance of dignified fimplicity, which 
 IS fo elfential and fo fafcinating, for an air of inane and 
 pompous affeftation; and it moreover, from the different 
 direftion given to the face and to the cheft, can feldom be 
 fo lituated as not to look ill placed and awkward. 
 
 I lhall beg to add that the Grecian method of cutting 
 the chell fquare, and placing its whole mafs immediately on 
 a term or other folid fupport, feems much preferable to 
 the more prevailing Roman falhion of rounding off that 
 chell, and balancing its center only on a llender and tot- 
 tering pivot. 
 
 PLATE LI. 
 
 No. 1. Profile of the mantle-piece in the foregoing plate. 
 
 No. 2. End of a fettee, ornamented with the buff and 
 emblems of Mercury; his caduceus and tortoife. 
 
 No. 3. Profile of the fire fcreen, Plate 14, No. 1. 
 
 PLATE LII. 
 
 Group compofed of various utenfils in gold, in lilver, and 
 in ivory: a tea urn, a fruit balket, an ewer, a candleffick, 
 a fugar bafon, and a cup, furrounded by Nereids and 
 Tritons. 
 
 The tea urn is the fame of Plate 49, feen fideways. 
 
48 
 
 PLATE LIII. 
 
 No. 1. Profile of the Turkilh pifture frame reprefented in 
 the title-page. 
 
 No. 2. Silk talTel. 
 
 No. 3. Griffins of the chandelier, Plate 30. 
 
 No. 4. Leg of the fofa in the drawing-room, Plate 6 . 
 No. 5. Profile of the pidture frame, Plate 40, No. 5. 
 
 PLATE LIV. 
 
 No. 1 and 2. End and front of a fmall dreffing or toilet 
 table, ornamented with the bird of Venus. 
 
 PLATE LV. 
 
 No. 1. Plan of the tripod, Plate 15, No. 1. 
 
 No. 2. Plan of the lideboard pedeflal, Plate 24, No. 6. 
 No. 3. Plan of the tripod, Plate 11, No. 5. 
 
 No. 4. Plan of the candelabrum, Plate 24, No. 5. 
 
 No. 5. Plan of the tripod table, Plate 25, No. 2. 
 
 No. 6 . Plan of the monopodium or Hand, Plate 25, 
 No. 5. 
 

49 
 
 PLATE LVI. 
 
 Three lyres, imitated from the antique: the third is taken 
 from a very fine fragment of a Greek fidile vafe, in my pof- 
 feffion. 
 
 PLATE LVII. 
 
 Dilferent heads of the Indian or bearded Bacchus. Gre- 
 cian mythologifts tell us that Bacchus, the firll legiflator who 
 attempted to civilize the Greeks, on his return from that re- 
 gion, which the Grecian philofophers venerated as the cradle 
 of fcience and the earlieft feat of wifdoin, namely, India, 
 though ftill in the prime of youth, afiefiled the gravity of 
 old age, and let his beard grow, in order the more to re- 
 femble the Gymnofophifts, or fages of India, with whom he 
 had converfed. In conformity with this fiible, the Indian 
 Bacchus or the legiflator, was ufually reprefented, not only 
 with a long beard, but with the long hair hanging down 
 the back, which was in the remotefl: ages univerfally worn 
 by the Greeks, and which, of all the goddeffes of Olympus, 
 the ftarched and llately Minerva alone ever continued, even 
 in later times, uniformly to difplay, in defiance of more mo- 
 dern fafliions. 
 
 This long hair, both of the beard and of the head, ufed, 
 
 in thofe early ages, to be twilled, by means of hot curling- 
 
 o 
 
irons, into the mofl; formal cork-fcrew ringlets, or fnail-fliell 
 curls ; in order to make it correfpond with the equally formal 
 parallel or zig-zag folds, in which were difpofed, and no 
 doubt were fixed by means of ftarching and of ironing, the 
 folds of the drapery; and fuch is in faft the coftume ge- 
 nerally difplayed in the head-drefs and attire of the Indian 
 Bacchus. 
 
 This head ufed frequently to be placed, by the ancients, 
 on their cippufes or terms, and, from the formal fymmetry 
 of its decorations, unites moll happily with architedlural or- 
 naments. 1 thought it a peculiarly appropriate termination 
 to the pilafters of a prefs, containing a colledlion of thofe 
 Greek fidlile vafes, which were chiefly confecrated to the 
 worlhip and allufive to the my fteries of Bacchus ; and among 
 the infinite variety of head-drelfes, which this head difplays 
 in different ancient monuments, I chofe thofe here repre- 
 fented, as offering the mofl flriking, and, at the fame time, 
 moll pleafmg peculiarities. 
 
 PLATE LVIll. 
 
 Mantle-piece with femicircular opening. 
 
 PLATE LIX. 
 
 No. 1 and 2. Arm-chairs. 
 
 No. 3. Small fland for a candleflick or vafe. 
 
51 
 
 PLATE LX. 
 
 Trophy of Grecian armour; applicable to the cornice of 
 a window curtain. 
 
 The explanation of the Plates terminating here, I thall 
 conclude by fubjoining a lift of the different works, either 
 reprefenting aftual remains of antiquity, or modern compofi- 
 tions in the antique ftyle, which have been of moft ufe to 
 me in my attempt to animate the different pieces of furni- 
 ture here defcribed, and to give each a peculiar countenance 
 and charafter, a pleafmg outline, and an appropriate meaning. 
 Thefe works are, 
 
 Stuart’s Athens. 
 
 Le Roy’s Monumens de la Grece. 
 
 Chandler’s Ionia. 
 
 Pococke’s Defcription of the Eaft. 
 
 Wood’s Palmyra. 
 
 Wood’s Balbec. 
 
 Norden’s Egypt. 
 
 Denon’s Egypt. 
 
52 
 
 Daniell’s Indian views. 
 
 Pitture, Statue, Bronzi, &c. di Ercolaneo. 
 
 Howel’s Sicily. 
 
 Wood’s Peftum. 
 
 Adams’s Ruins of Spalatro. 
 
 Clerifleau’s Antiquites de la France. 
 
 Mofaiques d’ltalica par Laborde. 
 
 Bellori’s Pifturm Antiquae. 
 
 Winckelman’s Monumenti Antiehi inediti. 
 
 Guattani’s Monumenti inediti di Roma. 
 
 Vifconti’s Mufeo Pio-CIementino. 
 
 Mufeo Capitolino. 
 
 Mufeum Florentinum. 
 
 Statue Antiche di San-Marco. 
 
 Montfaucon’s Antiquities. 
 
 Caylus’s Antiquities. 
 
 The Augufleum, or colleftion of antiquities in the Eleftoral 
 gallery at Drefden. 
 
 Piranefi’s works in general ; and particularly his vafes, can- 
 delabra, and chimney-pieces. 
 
 D’Hancarville’s Greek vafes. 
 
 Pafferi’s ditto. 
 
 Tifchbein’s ditto; and the various other colledlions of 
 paintings on Greek fiftile vafes, formerly erroneoufly deno- 
 minated Etrufcan, whieh afford the molt authentic and moft 
 elegant fpecimens which we poffefs, of Grecian rites, cere- 
 monies, culloms, utenfils, and drelTes. 
 
53 
 
 Durand’s Paralelle d’Edifices anciens et modernes- in 
 winch moft of the fine fpecimens of ancient ornamental 
 architedure (though not reprefented, either with the greateft 
 minutenefs or the greatefl; accuracy) are brought together in 
 
 fo fmall a compafs as to render the work very ufeful to 
 architedls. 
 
 Percier’s Edifices de Rome moderne. 
 
 Didofs folio Horace, with vignettes by Percier; feme of 
 which offer exquifite reprefentations of the mode in which 
 the ancient Romans ufed to decorate their town and country 
 houfes. 
 
 Les Annales du Muf& Francais, par Landon. 
 
 Le Mufee des Monumens Francais, par Lenoir. 
 
 And laftly, Mr. Flaxman’s compofitions from Efchylus and 
 from Homer; which offer the fineft modern imitations I know 
 of the elegance and beauty of the ancient Greek attire and 
 furniture, armour and utenfils. 
 
 THE END. 
 

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