Thursday, January 5, 2012

Her Majesty's Furniture:  The Tatham Stool, 1800







This majestic footstool from the Victoria & Albert Museum has a design similar to that of a marble seat that been discovered in Rome. Though it appears to be made of marble, the stool is made from beech wood, painted in white and grey to simulate the appearance of stone. The use of beech wood allowed for easier carving and much less costly (and less weighty) medium to marble. 

The stoolmwas designed by Charles Heathcote Tatham (1772-1842) who studied ancient architecture in Rome in July 1794 under the patronage of his employer and mentor, Henry Holland (1745-1806)--architect to the Prince of Wales. 

This stool is one of a pair from the Neave Collection.  Its twin is at Temple Newsam House, Leeds. 

2 comments:

Shawn said...

Wow! That is something! When I first looked at the photo, I thought "well, that's a really neat marble stool." Then I read that it is carved and painted wood! That is some amazing and beautiful craftsmanship. You always find the neatest things for STBE...thank you!

Joseph Crisalli said...

Thank you, Shawn.