The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 15, 2026

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
designer

Thomas Hope

(British, 1769–1831)
maker

Unknown Maker

(British)
England, 19th century
gilt-wood, reproduction wool upholstery
Overall: 102.2 x 113 x 71.1 cm (40 1/4 x 44 1/2 x 28 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2011.3
Location: 203B British Painting and Decorative Arts

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.
  • c.1802-1831
    Presumably Thomas Hope [1769-1831], Duchess Street, London and later at Deepdene, Surrey, and by descent to his son;
    1831-1862
    Henry Thomas Hope [1808-1862] and by descent to his wife
    1862-1884
    Anne Adele Bichat Hope [died 1884], by descent to her grandson
    1884-1917
    Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton-Hope [1866-1941], later 8th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme
    1917
    (Christie’s, London, July 18, 1917, no. 293; bought by Bridge for £9 9s)
    1917-2001
    Whereabouts unknown
    2001
    (Gorringe’s Auctioneers, Lewes, Sussex, June 7, 2001, lot 1204, sold to H. Blairman & Sons and Jeremy Ltd, London)
    2001-?
    (H. Blairman & Sons and Jeremy, Ltd., London)
    -2011
    Philip Hewat-Jaboor [born 1953]; sold by (Carlton Hobbs, Ltd., New York, as agent) to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    2011-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hope, Thomas, and Thomas Ustick Walter. Household Furniture and Interior Decoration. London: Printed by T. Bensley ... for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1807.
    Watkin, David, Philip Hewat-Jaboor, Daniella Ben-Arie, and Elizabeth Angelicoussis. Thomas Hope: Regency Designer. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press [for] The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York, 2008. p. 402-403
    Mann, C. Griffith, and Amy Bracken Sparks. "Acquisitions 2011." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 52, no. 2 (March/April 2012): 10-27. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 19 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 139
    Hanson, Robin. “Behind the Scenes: A day in the textile conservation lab.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 62, no. 1 (March 2022): 22-23. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 22 archive.org
    Lennard, Frances, Patricia Ewer, and Laura Mina. Textile Conservation: Advances in Practice. Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, 2024. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 583-591, fig. 8.3.1 & fig. 8.3.3
  • British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    Thomas Hope: Regency Designer. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York (organizer) (July 17-November 16, 2008); Victoria and Albert Museum, London (March 21-June 22, 2008).
  • {{cite web|title=Settee|url=false|author=Thomas Hope, Unknown Maker|year=c. 1802–07|access-date=15 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.3