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Paneling from Red Lodge

1529
Artist/maker unknown, English

Red Lodge, from which this paneling was taken in the 1920s, was a small structure whose early history is unknown. From the Middle Ages onward, domestic interiors in England were frequently clad with wood paneling that served to insulate as well as decorate. After 1500, older paneling was replaced by the style seen here, called “Romayne [Roman] work.” This style incorporated rondels with faces in profile and other Italianate motifs. Here some of the profiles wear classically derived helmets, while others wear contemporary headdresses. Also seen on the paneling are a rose, feathers, and a pomegranate—the emblems, respectively, of the royal house of Tudor, the Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. Such heraldic references were common in paneling.

This paneling would have been suitable in a chamber intended for entertaining in a hunting lodge, which Red Lodge may have been originally.


Object Details

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