
You have made an in depth study of the Pier Table made for the Circular Dressing Room of 1772 which is usually on display at Temple Newsam and is now on loan from the Chippendale Society to the current exhibition. Is it true that the table was found covered in black paint having been used as a work bench following the Victorian’s removal of it?
The table was sold from Harewood in 1976 and bought by the Chippendale Society the same year. It had been found in an outbuilding where it had apparently been used as a workbench, but the curved shape indicated that it had come from the Circular Dressing Room, where it had been recorded in inventories from 1795 onwards. The frame was covered in black paint and the marquetry of the top was badly damaged. But when the paint was removed Chippendale’s original white, blue and pink paint was found intact underneath. The marquetry top was sent away to be restored and re-varnished.

Tell us a little about your research on the table and the room more widely and specifically on the identification of the organic dyes. How did you approach this?
When we were considering using the table in the 2018 exhibition, we knew it needed a little bit of remedial work, so we decided at the same time to use the opportunity to investigate the marquetry more thoroughly. We were aware that Heinrich Piening, a scientist with the Bavarian Museum Service, had developed techniques for analysing the organic dyes used in 18th century marquetry, so we invited him to Leeds to survey the table. From his analysis we were able to reconstruct a plan of the original colour scheme, and then to reproduce that using Photoshop. The result was pretty startling, but it fitted with the colour schemes for the room devised by Robert Adam, which survive in the Soane Museum.
What other furniture was originally in the room?
The main furnishings of the room comprised the table with a three-part mirror above, a chimney glass opposite, six chairs with blue upholstery and painted frames, and an Axminster carpet. The table and the chairs survive but the carpet and the mirrors have gone.
Did any of the early visitors or guidebooks cover the room and make any mention of it?
The so-called ‘Circular Room’ was remarked upon by all the early visitors to Harewood. It may not have had much practical use but it clearly impressed visitors; indeed, in its small way (it was only 20 feet in diameter), it was a neo-Classical masterpiece, and exemplified the extraordinarily close working relationship that existed between Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale.
One last question – it is always said that the Harewood commission has been thoroughly researched. Do you think there is more still to be discovered about individual pieces in the collection?
Research is never finished, and this year’s work with Harewood on various tercentenary projects has shown us that there is always more to discover.

Straight after Adam’s excellent paper it was time for me to deliver mine, introducing the Harewood commission more broadly and focusing on the early tourists and visitors and what they thought of the luxurious interiors created for Edwin Lascelles by Thomas Chippendale.
I explained how popular Harewood was with country house tourists at the end of the 18th Century and quoted from family guests such as the Duchess of Northumberland, as well as referencing the thoughts of the Rev John Wesley, founder of Methodism who visited in 1779 and the pastel painter John Russell who came in 1802, and considered how guidebooks had encouraged visiting. My paper was entitled Decorating Harwood: experiencing the Chippendale firm’s largest commission. Future blog posts will feature my presentation in full together with an introduction to my research.
My contribution was followed by a paper delivered by Thomas Lange – A Chippendale Discovery at Harewood: the Mystery of the White Drawing Room, which focused on the loan of a newly discovered mirror originally from the White Drawing Room at Harewood, to the current Harewood exhibition. Other papers in the afternoon were delivered by Chippendale scholars and connoisseurs and included a fascinating consideration of the Paxton and Wedderburn Chippendale commissions in Scotland by David Jones and Kerry Bristol’s excellent paper which considered Sir Roland Winn and his wife Sabine’s Chippendale commission to furnish 11, St James’ Square, their London townhouse, drawing on sale catalogues of 1766 and 1785, followed by an illuminating discussion of the French influence on Chippendale’s designs by Sarah Medlam. We then heard about Chippendale’s influence in America, particularly in Philadelphia in a paper presented by Brock Jobe, of Winterthur Museum Delaware. The day concluded with an illuminating account, delivered by Megan Aldrich examining the many myths which have grown up around Chippendale, especially during early scholarship from 1875 – 1923 when errors were repeated about his life, including the fact that he was for many years thought to have come from Worcestershire! All the papers shed new and interesting light on Chippendale and his influence and encouraged debate and discussion.
The day ended with drinks at Leeds Museum and the chance for delegates to mingle and discuss the thought-provoking day before seeing the exhibition, to which Harewood House Trust has generously lent, one last time. It was a stimulating day for all who attended and a fitting celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Chippendale.
The exhibition Thomas Chippendale 1718 – 1779: A Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design is at Leeds City Museum until 9 June; Thomas Chippendale: Designer, Maker, Decorator is at Harewood House until 2 September 2018.
With thanks
With special thanks to Christie’s for their sponsorship of the Chippendale 300 blog series.