Explore Collections
You are here:
CollectionsOnline
/
Unfinished copy of design
Browse
- Sir John Soane office drawings: the drawings of Sir John Soane and the office of Sir John Soane
Reference number
SM volume 42/56
Purpose
Unfinished copy of design
Aspect
Part plan of ceiling with concentric circular panels arranged about a roundel containing a classical scene, double-scroll and dart enrichment, portrait medallions within semicircles, and rinceau and drops with inverted lambrequins towards the perimeter; details of mouldings labelled A, B.B. and C and of portrait medallion labelled BD, and (feint pencil) part plan of another ceiling
Scale
bar scale of 1/3 in to 1 ft
Inscribed
as above, Library at Lord Ashburnham / Mr Adams Inv-, 20 feet by 17.6 and some other dimensions given
Signed and dated
- badly-nested tags: br
Medium and dimensions
Pen on laid paper with two fold marks (191 x 309)
Hand
copied by Soane, Robert Adam (1728-92) or his office
Watermark
Britannia with spear, shield and olive branch within a crowned oval frame
Notes
There are a number of drawings in the Adam Collection at the Soane Museum for Ashburnham House. These include a more fully detailed variant plan to a larger scale for the library ceiling dated 19 June 1773 (volume 8/124) that has circular panels and portrait medallions though the latter are female and full face and also, for example, the perimeter circle is composed of olive leaf wreaths containing anthemion. Thus Soane's part-copy of an Adam drawing dated 25 July is the later of the two designs. Interestingly it also indicates that Soane had access to Adam's drawing office. Ashburnham House, 19 (later 30) Dover Street, London was altered for 2nd Earl of Ashburnham, 1773-6 by Robert Adam and since demolished (Colvin, 1995).See also 42/151 for a tracing of a drawing for the ceiling of the anteroom at Asburnham House, 1773. {cannot find when demolished or photos of library ceiling}
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