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Petworth House
The Square Dining Room
The present Square Dining Room was constructed by the 3rd Earl probably in about 1795. The panelling
was installed in 1799 and the windows were raised by one pane in height in 1815. Originally part of the Proud
Duke's rather bigger Servants' Hall, adjacent Butler's Pantry and Servants' Staircases, which were converted
by the 2nd Earl into a dining-room and a vestibule to the Grand Staircase, containing statuary in 1764.
The placing of the furniture, pictures and sculpture have been re-created
from the 'Turner' watercolour-gouache of c.1827 making the Square Dining
Room an immensely rare re-creation of a picture-hang recorded by 'Turner'.
By 1869 the room had become a drawing-room, but much of the original furnishings,
pictures, etc, remained in place
Pictures
Sir Anthony Van Dyck(1599-1641). Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
(1593-1641)
Charles I's great minister, abandoned by the King to execution by Parliament. Strafford paid £20, which was £10
less than Van Dyck's usual price for this size of picture.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland,
the 'Wizard Earl' (1564-1632)
A scholar and scientist who spent many years in the Tower after being implicated in the Gunpowder plot,
he is depicted in academical robes in a pose suggesting wisdom. His alchemical experiments gained him his
nickname.
The picture hang on the south wall of the Square Dining Room has
recently been restored following Turner's view of c.1827.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA (1723-1792). Macbeth and the Witches
This huge , unfinished and much deteriorated painting was commissioned in 1786 by Alderman Boydell for his
Shakespeare Gallery in London. The 3rd Earl must have acquired it after the gallery's contents were dispersed by
lottery in 1804.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck(1599-1641). Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland(1602-68),
Lady Anne Cecil (his first wife, 1612-37) and their daughter, Lady Katherine
Percy
The 10th Earl held high office under Charles I but opposed him during the Civil War.
He founded the Petworth picture collection by patronising Van Dyck and buying Old Masters.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck(1599-1641). Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport (1597-1665/6),
George, Lord Goring (1608-57) and a page
Royalist officers and close friends. Perhaps painted to
commemorate their preparations for the Scottish campaign of 1639.
Chimneypiece
C.1755-60 of yellow siena and white Carrara marble, with a central plaque
in the style of John Cheere (d.1787), was installed by the 2nd Lord Leconfield,
presumably during Salvin's alterations.
Furniture
Five carved and white painted side-tables
Set with marble tops they are probably of different dates, although they appear to be a set.
Carved giltwood pier-glasses and marble-topped tables
Attributable to 'James Whittle', who, with his partner and successor Samuel Norman (active 1746-67),
supplied so much furniture to the 2nd Earl.
Mahogany dining-table. Supported by tripod pedestals is 'c.1800'
Mahogany dining-chairs
Covered in red Morocco leather are probably by 'John Kerr' (active 1787-1808)
of 31 Pall Mall, London, a cabinetmaker and upholsterer who also supplied
furniture to the Royal household and to Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.
These chairs were probably delivered to the 3rd Earlof Egremont in 1802.
Carved giltwood glass
Probably installed by the 2nd Lord Leconfield in 1869-72 as it was not listed
here in 1869. The 1764 inventory reads: 'A Large Carv'd & gilt Glass fraime
with Glass Borders & 4 Plates in D°', which places the Glass in the King of
Spain's Bedchamber.
Porcelain & Silverware
Pair of ormolu and opaque glass colza oil lamps c.1820
Large blue-and-white porcelain jars.
Chinese, 'Kangxi period' (1662-1722), purchased by the 6th Duke and
Duchess 'c.1690'. Such vases were coveted status symbols:
in 1717 Augustus the Strong, 'King of Saxony', exchanged a regiment
of dragoons for 151 pieces of porcelain, including
18 vases similar to those at Petworth.
Four bell-shaped wine-coolers
Decorated with grapes, with ram's mask handles and engraved with the 3rd Earl's
arms, are from a set of ten, dated London 1812, by 'Paul Storr' (1771-1844),
who specialised in Neo-classical display plate.
Monteith (wine glass-cooler)
Marked London 1767 with the maker's mark 'JS', probably for 'James Schruder'
(active 1737-63), who made some of the finest Rococo plate of the
mid-eighteenth century. It is inscribed in honour of the silver
wedding of the 2nd Lord and Lady Leconfield in 1892.
Monteith (wine glass-cooler)
Marked London 1693, is by 'Samuel Hood' (active 1693-1727). It is engraved
with the Wyndham coat of arms and (on the reverse) crest, probably
for the 2nd Earl's father, Sir William Wyndham.
Candelabra
From a set of ten, dated London, 1807, 1808, 1814 and 1815, by 'Paul Storr'.
Monteith
With lion's mask handles, London 1710, is by 'David Willaume' (1658-1741), a
prolific and successful Huguenot silversmith.
Silver-gilt racing cup
London 1810, by 'Rebeccah Emes' (active 1808-29) and 'Edward Barnard
'(active 1789-d. c.1853-5), engraved 'Lewes Races 1815'.
This and the other racing cups were the spoils of the 3rd Earl's supremely
successful horse-racing establishment.
Silver-gilt campana-shaped racing cup
London 1825, by 'Emes' and 'Barnard', engraved 'Goodwood,1825' and
'Won by Cricketer' (one of the 3rd Earl's horses).
Silver-gilt racing cup
London 1819, by 'William Bateman' senior (1774-1850), engraved 'Lewes Races
1819' and 'Won by Silvertail'.
Silver-gilt cup
By the London silversmith 'Soloman Hougan' (c.1746-1818), inscribed and
presented to the 3rd Earl by 'the Agriculturists [sic] of Sussex' in honour of
'the many important benefits confer'd upon the County' by him.
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