Settee (c. 1802–07): Art, History and Details

Settee (c. 1802–07) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Thomas Hope (British, 1769–1831); Unknown Maker (British).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

An art collector, designer, and champion of neoclassicism, Thomas Hope designed this settee for display in his London house. Hope’s design exemplifies the continued interest in neoclassical ornament around 1800 through the use of elaborately carved friezes, a central pediment, and a lavishly gilded surface. In 1807 Hope published Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, featuring descriptions of his renowned collection of antiquities and the interior furnishings from his London house, including this settee. Many architects and cabinetmaking firms took inspiration from Hope’s designs, adapting Greek and Roman forms to create bold expressions of neoclassicism in their architecture and decoration.

Object facts

• Title: Settee
• Date: c. 1802–07
• Creator attribution: Thomas Hope (British, 1769–1831); Unknown Maker (British)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Wood
• Technique: gilt-wood, reproduction wool upholstery
• Dimensions: Overall: 102.2 x 113 x 71.1 cm (40 1/4 x 44 1/2 x 28 in.)
• Collection: Furniture
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 2011.3

A detail from the museum

The acorn finials, ram’s heads, and clusters of stylized honeysuckle flowers along the settee’s frame are typical of Thomas Hope’s neoclassical designs.

Collection credit

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Hope, Thomas, and Thomas Ustick Walter. Household Furniture and Interior Decoration. London: Printed by T. Bensley ... for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1807.
• Watkin, David, Philip Hewat-Jaboor, Daniella Ben-Arie, and Elizabeth Angelicoussis. Thomas Hope: Regency Designer. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press [for] The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York, 2008.
• Mann, C. Griffith, and Amy Bracken Sparks. "Acquisitions 2011." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 52, no. 2 (March/April 2012): 10-27.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.