Settee
Category
Furniture
Date
1710 - 1720
Materials
Walnut, beech and pine upholstered in crimson stamped woollen velvet or plush
Measurements
104.5 x 160.0 x 82.0 cm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Knole, Kent
NT 129498.1
Summary
One of a set of six walnut settees on six cabriole legs and with scroll arms, each with stuffed seats and backs covered in crimson stamped velvet (caffoy) with buff tassel fringe. The settees make up part of a larger set also comprising nine chairs (129499.1-9) spread between the Reynolds Room and the Cartoon Gallery. Their particular interest lies in the original upholstery, which matches the hangings of the walls in the Reynolds Room. It is a stamped woollen velvet or plush, frequently mentioned in eighteenth-century accounts, but now exceptionally rare. Some of the chairs also preserve their original knotted linen fringe.
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.