The collection at Wateringbury Place was the remarkable creation of David Style. John Harris described the collection in the introduction to the Christie's 1978 sale catalogue: 'The compositional result is so idiosyncratic as to defy description. My memory is a kaleidoscopic effect of colour and objects, warm and rich, quirky, full of amusement and flashes of inspirational juxtapositions'. Not all items were selected on purely decorative merit, many pieces were of extraordinary quality: the Italian ormolu and pietra dura cabinet from Hamilton Palace, pieces from Ashburnham Place and Leeds Castle, a suite of Regency furniture by Morel & Hughes from Northumberland House. Some were placed in the remarkable 'Chinoiserie' rooms as the present lot is to be seen illustrated opposite.