©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
Due to lack of time this has to be a very short post, but I thought I would show another view of this stunning bureau cabinet at Erddig, Wrexham. It seems to be a good example of the theatrical type of chinoiserie mentioned in the previous post.
It was probably supplied to Erddig in the 1720s by the cabinet-maker John Belchier. The house was then owned by the wealthy barrister John Meller, who enriched it with magnificent furniture, much of which is still there.
Erddig's east front. ©NTPL/Rupert Truman
The facade of Erddig, at the head of its canal, has something similarly theatrical about it. This may remind us that the theatricality of certain kinds of chinoiserie owes as much to the exuberance of the Baroque and the Rococo as it does to the perceived exoticism of China.
October 16, 2010 at 10:29 |
Great piece of art.
August 27, 2011 at 21:01 |
Minor factual error.
Philip Yorke was the great nephew of John Mellor, not his great grandson. Mellor never married, but his sister married one Simon Yorke, and their son, also Simon ,was helpful to hsi uncle and inherited the estate. Philip Yorke was the next generation.
Source; National Trust guides to Erddig, where I am a room guide.
August 29, 2011 at 07:47 |
Thanks very much Kay, I have corrected it (in the post ‘Degrees of Exoticism’).