Working drawings for the Privy Council Chamber, July 1826 (3)

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Sir John Soane office drawings: the drawings of Sir John Soane and the office of Sir John Soane
- Office of Works
  - London: Board of Trade and Privy Council Offices, Whitehall & Downing Street: designs for new offices and scheme for the improvement of Downing Street, 1823-33 (284)
    - Designs for the new government buildings on Whitehall and the completion of Downing Street with a Triumphal Arch, December 1825-May 1833 (100)

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Reference number

SM (234) 49/1/12 (235) 49/1/42A (236) 49/1/46

Purpose

Working drawings for the Privy Council Chamber, July 1826 (3)

Aspect

234 Sketch of the Plan of the New Council Chamber Downing Street 235 Elevation of a door surround; (verso) unfinished perspective of part of an unidentified building 236 Elevation Sketch of a Design for the South Side of the Council Chamber

Scale

(234) to a scale of 1/2 inch to 1 foot (235) bar scale of 2/3 inch to 1 foot (236) bar scale of 4/5 inch to 1 foot

Inscribed

234 as above, labelled: Finishings / 2'' projection / Pilasters 1½'', (pencil) 23'7½'' Finished Dimension, Brickwork, Line of Arch Line of Frames and dimensions given 235 New Council Offices, labelled: Council Chamber and some dimensions given 236 as above, New Council Offices and some dimensions given

Signed and dated

(234) July 1826 (235) L.I.F. / 20 July 1826 (236) L.I.F. 1826

Medium and dimensions

(234) Pencil, pink and yellow ochre washes, pricked for transfer on wove paper (712 x 525) (235) pencil, pricked for transfer on wove paper (389 x 289) (236) pencil, partly pricked for transfer on wove paper (644 x 794)

Hand

(234-236) Stephen Burchell (1806-?, pupil 1823-28)

Watermark

(234) Smith & Allnutt 1823 (236) J Whatman 1824

Notes

The outline of the 'starfish' ceiling is shown on drawing 234 and in the bottom right corner of the sheet are rough details of mouldings. The design for the door surround is the same on both drawings 235 and 236. On either side of the doorway are Ionic columns which support a scrolled acroterion - a typically Soanean device. On either side of the doorway are a panel and a roundel drawn for comparison (the finished design would have either two panels or two roundels). The caduceus (winged staff) motif in the panel signifies commerce and the horns of plenty celebrate prosperity and abundance. The roundel depicts Luna, the Roman personification of the moon. It is copied from the Arch of Constantine in Rome and was used frequently by Soane along with its pair, Sol.

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