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Lot Essay
This carpet was originally housed in the Yellow Drawing Room at Rudding Park, Harrogate commissioned by the Hon. William Gordon in 1807. The majority of the fittings for Rudding Park were acquired or commissioned by Sir Joseph Radcliffe who purchased the house in 1824 from his father-in-law and furnished much of it with both old and new items over the following six years, C. Hussey, English Country Houses, Late Georgian, 1800-1840, London, 1958, pl. 144. The date of the furnishing of the Yellow Drawing Room at Rudding Park gives a very probable approximate date for the commissioning of this carpet. This was at some time between 1807, when the room was commissioned, and the six years following 1823 when the majority of the contents were purchased. We can confidently state therefore, that this carpet remained in situ for over 150 years when it was later sold by Christie's in situ, lot 256 on 16 October 1972, illustrated as pl. 49. In addition what is extremely interesting, is that within that illustration one can see the original fireplace around which the current fireplace cut fits.
There are two very closely related carpets to the present example which have been published, all three of which must have been made in the same workshop. One, the most similar, with a comparable border and field design was sold at Christie's London, 6 July 2000, lot 163. That carpet was almost certainly commissioned for 19 Arlington Street, London by either Thomas Dundas, 1st Lord Dundas (d. 1820) or his son, Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland (d. 1839) and thence by descent. The second was at Devonshire House, London, before its demolition, C.E.C,Tattersall, A History of British Carpets, Benfleet, 1934, pl. XIXB). That appears to be the smallest of the three, with a central roundel flanked by scrollwork squashed into the end panels, again within a white border of identical swags, this time linked by different roundels. Of the three carpets it is probable that this was the first to be commissioned. The present carpet is by far the largest of the three which explains why at either end, additional panels of acanthus have been included rather than redesigning the entire acanthus to fill the space. The end panels of the Devonshire House carpet are somewhat cramped by the scale of the medallion and the border panels are obviously contorted to fit the space correctly.
The design clearly derives its influences from Savonnerie carpet designs reflecting the heavier French taste popularised by the Prince Regent, notably at Carlton House. Closely related scrollwork, roundels and swagged flowers can be seen on drawings that were created by Saint-Ange for the Savonnerie manufacture under Napoleon and Louis XVIII (Dumonthier, Ernest: Dessins de tapis et tapisseries du mobilier de la couronne, Paris, n.d.). Yet the carpet is still an English interpretation of the designs from France. The border in particular has a softness of colouring which is absent from the Saint-Ange illustrations, and is much more in keeping with the English interior. The way the design is subtly changed from one carpet to the next also indicates an Axminster origin. Thomas Whitty recognised the popularity of some of his designs and reproduced them, sometimes with slightly different colour schemes, or with slightly differing design details, a number of times. His commercial acumen thereby avoided the need and expense of a completely new cartoon for every carpet he produced. This is probably one of the reasons why his factory managed to continue long after his rivals in Exeter and Moorfields had had to close. And what better way to sell the idea of a carpet to a new client than to say you can make them one just like that recently produced for either Sir Joseph Radcliffe at Rudding Park or Lord Dundas' very fashionable interior at Arlington Street.
There are two very closely related carpets to the present example which have been published, all three of which must have been made in the same workshop. One, the most similar, with a comparable border and field design was sold at Christie's London, 6 July 2000, lot 163. That carpet was almost certainly commissioned for 19 Arlington Street, London by either Thomas Dundas, 1st Lord Dundas (d. 1820) or his son, Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland (d. 1839) and thence by descent. The second was at Devonshire House, London, before its demolition, C.E.C,Tattersall, A History of British Carpets, Benfleet, 1934, pl. XIXB). That appears to be the smallest of the three, with a central roundel flanked by scrollwork squashed into the end panels, again within a white border of identical swags, this time linked by different roundels. Of the three carpets it is probable that this was the first to be commissioned. The present carpet is by far the largest of the three which explains why at either end, additional panels of acanthus have been included rather than redesigning the entire acanthus to fill the space. The end panels of the Devonshire House carpet are somewhat cramped by the scale of the medallion and the border panels are obviously contorted to fit the space correctly.
The design clearly derives its influences from Savonnerie carpet designs reflecting the heavier French taste popularised by the Prince Regent, notably at Carlton House. Closely related scrollwork, roundels and swagged flowers can be seen on drawings that were created by Saint-Ange for the Savonnerie manufacture under Napoleon and Louis XVIII (Dumonthier, Ernest: Dessins de tapis et tapisseries du mobilier de la couronne, Paris, n.d.). Yet the carpet is still an English interpretation of the designs from France. The border in particular has a softness of colouring which is absent from the Saint-Ange illustrations, and is much more in keeping with the English interior. The way the design is subtly changed from one carpet to the next also indicates an Axminster origin. Thomas Whitty recognised the popularity of some of his designs and reproduced them, sometimes with slightly different colour schemes, or with slightly differing design details, a number of times. His commercial acumen thereby avoided the need and expense of a completely new cartoon for every carpet he produced. This is probably one of the reasons why his factory managed to continue long after his rivals in Exeter and Moorfields had had to close. And what better way to sell the idea of a carpet to a new client than to say you can make them one just like that recently produced for either Sir Joseph Radcliffe at Rudding Park or Lord Dundas' very fashionable interior at Arlington Street.