State couch
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1630
Materials
Painted and partly gilt beech covered in crimson velvet
Measurements
104.0 x 107.0 x 72.0 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Knole, Kent
NT 129417
Summary
A beechwood settee or state couch, c.1630, with square frame and columnar legs, and upholstered in the original crimson velvet with tassel fringe – this particular tasselled fringing is identical to that on the curtains of James II’s state bed also preserved at Knole. The state couch’s framework appears to have been originally green and gilt and is now over-painted in brown. Some traces of the original decoration survive. The front and back stretchers and the central back leg are replacements. The state couch is part of a larger set further comprising two stools and a footstool. Another two state couches from of a similar date, c.1635-40, survive at Knole. They are ensuite with the famous ‘Knole Sofa’.
Provenance
Knole and the majority of its furniture were accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death duties and transferred to the National Trust in 1946.