[111106] Kedleston Hall : State Bedroom

Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, 1758-65.

The National Trust.

By Matthew Brettingham (1699-1769), James Paine (1717-1789) & Robert Adam (1728-1792).

Interiors complete by the 1780s.

For Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale (1726-1804).

Grade l listed.

State Bedroom.

 

The Kedleston State Bed.

James Gravenor (fl.1741-1768).

 

A mahogany and giltwood carved tester bedstead, completed in 1768. The bed posts formed as palm trees with gilt roots forming the feet. Large gilt foliage sprays support the canopy, which is surmounted by large foliage sprays, the corners with plumes of grey ostrich feathers. The underside of the canopy applied with giltwood foliate designs on a ground of pale blue flowered silk brocade, the back of the bed with foliage sprays, a coronet and monogram on similar brocade.

 

Kedleston Hall is an extravagant temple to the arts. Commissioned in the 1750s by Nathaniel Curzon whose ancestors had resided at Kedleston since the 12th century. The house is framed by historic parkland and boasts opulent interiors intended to impress.

 

Designed for lavish entertaining, Kedleston Hall displays an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture and original furnishings, reflecting both the tastes of its creators and their fascination with the classical world of the Roman Empire.

 

Inherited by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905, the hall also houses the many objects he amassed during his travels in South Asia and the Middle East, and in his role leading British rule in India.

 

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