Artwork Page for Settee

Details / Information for Settee

Settee

c. 1802–07
designer

Thomas Hope

(British, 1769–1831)
maker

Unknown Maker

(British)
Culture
England, 19th century
Medium
gilt-wood, reproduction wool upholstery
Measurements
Overall: 102.2 x 113 x 71.1 cm (40 1/4 x 44 1/2 x 28 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2011.3
Public Domain
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Location
203B British Painting and Decorative Arts
Print
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Did You Know?

The acorn finials, ram’s heads, and clusters of stylized honeysuckle flowers along the settee’s frame are typical of Thomas Hope’s neoclassical designs.

Description

An art collector, designer, and champion of neoclassicism, Thomas Hope designed this settee for display in his London house. Hope’s design exemplifies the continued interest in neoclassical ornament around 1800 through the use of elaborately carved friezes, a central pediment, and a lavishly gilded surface. In 1807 Hope published Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, featuring descriptions of his renowned collection of antiquities and the interior furnishings from his London house, including this settee. Many architects and cabinetmaking firms took inspiration from Hope’s designs, adapting Greek and Roman forms to create bold expressions of neoclassicism in their architecture and decoration.
A settee, a long seat, features scarlet red, rectangular cushions upholstered on the seat and back within an ornate gilt wood structure. Ram heads protrude from the front edge of each arm and pinecones stand on top of either side of the settee's back. The settee back arches up, filled with various patterns of representations of flowers, leaves, and curling vines. Bundles like tassels cinched at the bottom hang from the base.

Settee

c. 1802–07

Thomas Hope, Unknown Maker

(British, 1769–1831), (British)
England, 19th century

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