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Lot Essay
Promoted by the writer Horace Walpole (d. 1797) for its Elizabethan character, such ebony furniture became an important element of the Romantic 18th Century antiquarian interior. An ebony settee at Cotehele, Cornwall served as a throne on the occasion of the visit by George III and Queen Charlotte in 1789.
Another couch, reputed to have been presented by Queen Elizabeth I to the Earl of Leicester, formed part of William Beckford's ebony furnishings in his 'Lancaster State Bedroom', that served for Admiral Nelson's celebrated visit to Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire in 1803, before being acquired for the Elizabethan mansion at Charlecote, Warwickshire in 1832. Ebony bedrooms were also created at Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, and at Montague House, London, while an ebony dining-room was introduced at Longleat, Wiltshire in the early 19th Century. At this period such furniture was particularly associated with antiquarian dealers in Wardour Street, who created new forms of seat furniture using ancient elements.
Another couch, reputed to have been presented by Queen Elizabeth I to the Earl of Leicester, formed part of William Beckford's ebony furnishings in his 'Lancaster State Bedroom', that served for Admiral Nelson's celebrated visit to Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire in 1803, before being acquired for the Elizabethan mansion at Charlecote, Warwickshire in 1832. Ebony bedrooms were also created at Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, and at Montague House, London, while an ebony dining-room was introduced at Longleat, Wiltshire in the early 19th Century. At this period such furniture was particularly associated with antiquarian dealers in Wardour Street, who created new forms of seat furniture using ancient elements.