The eight drawings on five sheets catalogued here are grouped together since they are for domed buildings. They reveal Dance's interests in domical forms including saucer domes as well as fan shell decoration, oculi and centralised plans. Most are roughly and rapidly drawn: two [SM D3/14/33] recto and [SM D3/14/26] were made with straight edge and compasses but are unfinished. It has not been possible to identify them through [SM D3/14/34] and [SM D3/14/32] - catalogued as a design for a mausoleum? - have an affinity with Dance's studies for the Bank Stock Office made to help Soane in 1791. Harold Kalman has made a comparison with Soane's unexecuted triangular scheme for a sepulchral church for Tyringham, 1800-01 and the plans on the verso of [SM D2/14/33]. Again, comparison with some of the preliminary drawings made by the younger Dance for the Mansion House throw up intriguing but inconclusive possibilities as to identification; for example, a sheet of studies for an unrealised top-lit Saloon at the Mansion House.

LITERATURE. A.T. Bolton, Works of Sir John Soane, 1924, pp.16-22; P.du Prey, Sir John Soane, 1985, pp.58-9; M.Richardson & M.Stevens (eds), John Soane Architect: master of space and light, catalogue of an exhibition at the Royal Academy, 1999, pp.226-7.