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One of George IV's great
passions was music. Appropriately the second extension
in Nash's scheme (in addition to the Banqueting Room)
was the Music Room. In this extraordinary interior,
lit by nine lotus-shaped chandeliers, the King's own
band entertained guests with selections from Handel
or Italian opera.
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'The Music Room' from
Views of the Royal
Pavilion, by John Nash, 1826.
A concert is in progress and George IV can be seen seated
on the left with Lady Conyngham.
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This room remains the most significant
monument to one of George IV's chief decoratiors, Frederick Crace. The walls were
decorated with painted canvases by Crace and a French artist, Lambelet. These
paintings consist of Chinese scenes in rich reds heightened with gold incorporating
sscenes from William Alexander's Views of China,
published in 1805. |
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The fireplace
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The ceiling
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Tragically this splendid
room was severly damaged by fire in 1975, although all
but one of the original wall paintings survived. After
a decade of intensive work, restoration was completed
including a reproduction of the original hand-knotted
and fitted Axminster carpet. Restoration was barely
completed when the hurricane of October 1987 dislodged
a stone ball on top of one of the minarets which then
fell through the newly-restored ceiling and embedded
itself in the newly-laid carpet. After further works
by the Pavilion conservation team the room has now been
restored to Crace's original scheme.
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You
can look at the following 360º panorama of the
Music Room.This may take a few moments to load depending
on the speed of your internet connection.
The
Music Room (Flash
- 412kb) (Quicktime
- 635kb)
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The
Banqueting Room Conservation
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