The Dundas Sofa

Public Domain

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Images(13)

DesignerDesigned by Robert Adam(Scottish, 1728–1792)Scottish, 1728–1792

MakerMade by Thomas Chippendale (English, 1718–1779)English, 1718–1779

CultureEnglish

Titles

The Dundas Sofa

DateCommissioned 1764, made 1765

MediumLimewood, pine, beech and gilding with later silk upholstery

DimensionsOverall: 43 1/2 × 99 1/2 × 36 in. (110.5 × 252.7 × 91.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment

Object number2014.810

Current Location

Rienzi

Ballroom

On view

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Department

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Object Type

FURNITURE

ProvenanceCommissioned in 1765 by Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st baronet (1710–1781), for the Great Room, 19 Arlington Street, London; by descent in the Dundas family, later the marquesses of Zetland; moved to Aske Hall, Yorkshire, England, in 1934; moved to Duff House, Scotland, date unknown; [sold through Robert Holden Ltd., London]; purchased by MFAH, 2014.

Exhibition History"Carvers & Gilders, London," June 4, 2015–June 1, 2016
Published References T. Bolton, 'London Houses/19 Arlington St. S.W.1.A Residence of the Marquess of Zetland', Country Life, 17 September 1921, pp. 350-55. A. T. Bolton, 'Some Early Adam Furniture at No. 19, Arlington St', Country Life, 24 September 1921, pp. 385-8. G. Bernard Hughes, 'Costly Elegance of Gilded Chairs', Country Life, 28 November 1963, pp. 1398-9. A. Coleridge, 'Sir Lawrence Dundas & Chippendale', Apollo, Vol. LXXXVI September 1967, pp. 190-203. J. Harris, 'The Dundas Empire', Apollo, Vol LXXXVI September 1967, pp. 170-9. D. Sutton, (Editorial) 'The Nabob of the North', Apollo, Vol LXXXVI September 1967, p. 168. A. Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture, The Work of Thomas Chippendale and his Contemporaries in the Rococo Taste, London, 1968, pp. 121-3, 130-1, 142-5, 147-8, 169-71, 209, 212, pl. 367. M. Tomlin, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, London, 1972, pp. 2-3. F. Watson, et al., 'Purity of Form: The neoclassical reaction' in the History of Furniture, London, 1976, p. 159. G. Beard, The Work of Robert Adam, Edinburgh, 1978, pp. 25, 66, pl.55. G. Jackson-Stops, (ed.) The Treasure Houses of Britain: Five Hundred Years of Private Patronage and Art Collecting, Yale, 1985, pp. 332-3. G. Beard, 'Robert Adam's 'artificiers', Antiques, June 1987, pp. 1292-1303, fig. p. 1295. J. Bryant, 'Back as Adam intended', Country Life, 3 November 1988, pp. 192-5. N. Harris, Chippendale, New Jersey, 1989, pp. 84-5, 95-7, 102-3. C. Simon Sykes, Private Palaces: Life in the Great London Houses, London, 1989, p. 200. D. King, The Complete Works of Robert and James Adam, Oxford, 1991, pp. 307-8, pl. 431. S. Pryke, 'Revolution in Taste', Country Life, 16 April 1992, pp. 102-5, figs. 3 & 4. C. Gilbert, 'Chippendale and Adam Triumphant', Christie's International Magazine, July-August 1997, pp. 22-24. J. Sellars (ed.), The Art of Thomas Chippendale: Master Furniture Maker, Leeds, 2000, p. 52, fig. 38. E. Harris, The Genius of Robert Adam: His Interiors, New Haven and London, 2001, p. 14.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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