Fitzherbert, Maria Anne, 1756-1837; George IV, King of Great Britain, 1762-1830
'There are five sideboards of rose wood in this apartment, ornamented
with _ormolu_ and Chinese emblems. The dining table, which is of the
best mahogany, is forty two feet in length, and seven feet six inches
in width. The seats and backs of the chairs are covered with red
morocco.
'Among the other furniture appropriate to a dining room, are five
Chinese Cisterns, mounted in _ormolu_, of superior workmanship; and
numerous jars and vessels of blue porcelain, of great brilliancy and
excellence; the latter are of Staffordshire manufacture, and were
provided by Spode and Copeland. The carpeting, which is of Axminster
manufacture, and made expressly for the room, consists of a large
square, and two end pieces to correspond. A dragon, with three serpents
coiled round, and involving it, forms the central ornament: this is
surrounded by circles, diversely wrought, and increasing in diameter
towards the border.
'The illustration represents the Banqueting Room as it appeared during
one of the splendid entertainments given there, by the Prince Regent;
whose portrait may be distinctly recognised among the company.
'On the same side, at the end of the dining table, is his Royal
brother, the late King, when Duke of Clarence. The table is set out
with rich plate, splendid candelabra, and elegant and costly statuary.
'THE LIBRARY.
'Behind the Music Room, and, partly, forming the north west of this
edifice, are the private apartments which were occupied by his late
Majesty, George the Fourth. They consist of a Library, Bed room, Bath,
Sitting and Dressing rooms, and several offices.
'The Library comprehends two rooms, the largest of which is thirty
five feet in length, by twenty feet in breadth, and the other, about
half those dimensions. Divided into three compartments, _viz._ a
square and two oblongs, the ceiling of the large room is painted to
represent an azure sky, diversified by light clouds; and, in the
oblong compartments, are delineations of Chinese standards. The square
part is surrounded by a gilt cornice, supported, at the angles, by
fluted pillars, crowned with capitals of fan-like tracery. Dragons of
grotesque and varied forms, combined with flowers and other devices, on
a green ground, are curiously painted on the walls. The hangings are
composed of rich yellow coloured drapery. Over the chimney piece, which
is of statuary marble, and very elegant, is a splendid looking glass;
and another is fixed over the chimney piece in the smaller room. Though
still called the Library, these apartments present but few indications
of that appropriation, all the books having been removed during the
residence, here, of William the Fourth. A great variety of China jars,
and other vessels, form a part of the ornamental furniture, and, in
the smaller room, is a very pretty Indian Cabinet, containing numerous
articles of _bijouterie_ and _vertû_.
'HIS MAJESTY'S (GEORGE THE FOURTH) BEDROOM.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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