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Unfinished record drawing for a quarter of a rectangular ceiling round a central oval divided by borders of foliage and rosettes, with a trophy supported by putti within a triangle.
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Reference number
Adam vol.26/167
Purpose
Unfinished record drawing for a quarter of a rectangular ceiling round a central oval divided by borders of foliage and rosettes, with a trophy supported by putti within a triangle.
Aspect
Ceiling plan
Inscribed
Inscribed in ink in a contemporary hand From Mr Buiers at Rome
Signed and dated
- Undated, but may be from after Robert Adam's return from Italy
Medium and dimensions
Pen, pencil
418 x 563
Hand
Giuseppe Manocchi (attributed to), after James Byres
Notes
There is a smaller version of this composition as one of the alternatives in Adam vol.26/165, where the rectangular design is converted to one for a dome. The draughtsmanship is probably that of Giuseppe Manocchi (1731-82), after a more complete composition by James Byres (1734-1817). The inscription relating to Byres appears in the same hand on other ceiling designs, Adam vol.26/166, 170, 174 and 176 and it would suggest that they were inscribed in London. All are unfinished and may well be copies, probably by Manocchi, after the complete originals. James Byres turned from painting to architecture c.1758 while in Rome, and in 1762 he won a prize in the Concorso Clementino. At that time he was known to James Adam's circle (see J. Fleming, Robert Adam and His Circle in Edinburgh & Rome, London, 1962, p.378). There is an album of finished ceiling designs attributed to Byres in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, USA (see J. Harris, Catalogue of British Drawings for Architecture, Decoration, Sculpture and Landscape Gardening 1550-1900 in American Collections, New Jersey, 1971, p.41).
Level
Drawing
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk