BY HENRY CLAY, CIRCA 1825

Henry Clay originally operated his business from Birmingham but by the 1780s had established premises in King Street, Covent Garden, London. He described himself as 'Japanner to Their Majesties' on his trade card, and his clients included George III, Queen Charlotte, and later George IV when he was Prince of Wales. Clay was renowned for his patented technique of ‘stoved’ or baked japanning on papier-mâché, introduced in 1772. He is best known today for his tea caddies, tea wares, trays, and rare pieces of furniture, which were significant commissions in their time. Notable examples include a japanned side cabinet with chinoiserie landscape panels, stamped by Clay and illustrated in C. Gilbert, Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture, Leeds, 1996, fig. 203, and a japanned mahogany Pembroke table in the Etruscan Room at Osterley Park, described in an inventory of 1782 as 'A Pembroke table richly Japanned by Clay', illustrated in Maurice Tomlin, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, V&A, p.84, pl.J/5. Additionally, Clay supplied the japanned panels for the hall doors at Chatsworth.