Lot Essay
The Adam-style room is traditionally said to be in the Austrian Embassy in London. It certainly seems to be in a large townhouse, since a balcony can just be glimpsed through the window on the right. The Countess's sister-in-law was the daughter of Count Starhemberg, Austrian Foreign secretary. The Adam decoration has been brought up to date with fashionable Regency furniture and the looking-glasses with large unbroken plates of mirror-glass that were a striking novelty at this date. The scheme is grand and opulent and the reflection in the looking-glass indicates a substantial house suitable for receptions and official entertaining.
The Etruscan-style Music Room is traditionally believed to be in one of the Thürheim or Starhemberg family homes in Austria. The Etruscan- style decoration of the room may have been achieved with cut-outs of hand-coloured prints from one of the currently fashionable books on classical antiquities. The large sheets of looking-glass were at this date still quite a novelty, but by the early 19th Century could be supplied by a range of local manufacturers rather than, as earlier, having to be imported from France. The room is an informal boudoir, as indicated by the drum, which suggests a child's presence.
The Etruscan-style Music Room is traditionally believed to be in one of the Thürheim or Starhemberg family homes in Austria. The Etruscan- style decoration of the room may have been achieved with cut-outs of hand-coloured prints from one of the currently fashionable books on classical antiquities. The large sheets of looking-glass were at this date still quite a novelty, but by the early 19th Century could be supplied by a range of local manufacturers rather than, as earlier, having to be imported from France. The room is an informal boudoir, as indicated by the drum, which suggests a child's presence.