The Zodiac settle is a piece of painted furniture designed by the English architect and designer

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoc ...

and made between 1869 and 1871. A wooden

settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...

designed with

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

themes, it was made for Burges' rooms at Buckingham Street, and later moved to the drawing room of

The Tower House The Tower House, 29 Melbury Road, is a late-Victorian townhouse in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London, built by the architect and designer William Burges as his home. Designed between 1875 and 1881, in the French Go ...

, the home that he designed for himself in

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

. Burges desired to fill his home with furniture "covered with paintings, both ornaments and subjects; it not only did its duty as furniture, but spoke and told a story." At one stage the poet

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

gave the settle to the novelist

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

, and it is now in the collection of The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Design

The settle is a wooden bench with a canopy. It is painted and stenciled, with inlaid pieces of glass crystal and vellum. In 1865, Burges wrote, "it is almost impossible for us to conceive the effect of a first-class piece of medieval sacred furniture covered with burnished gilding engraved and punched into patterns enriched with paintings by an artist like Giotto, and glittering with mosaics of gilt and coloured glass." The only settle that Burges created, its form has been likened to a

day bed A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar time, s ...

of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. Burges scorned his typical French Gothic influences in his design for the settle, being influenced instead by

English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

sources as well as the Italian Renaissance. It is decorated with a central painted panel, painted by

Henry Stacy Marks Henry Stacy Marks (13 September 1829 – 9 January 1898) was a British artist who took a particular interest in Shakespearean and medieval themes in his early career and later in decorative art depicting birds and ornithologists as well as lan ...

. The panel features an enthroned sun, with the

Zodiac signs In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

dancing around it. The signs of Leo, Virgo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus and Aries dance on the right, and Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces are dancing on the left. The planets of the solar system are depicted as musicians on one side of the settle, with

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She b ...

and another female figure on the other side. It is inscribed in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

"" ("Burges the Architect had me made in the year of salvation 1869 however he had me painted in April of the year of salvation 1870"). The maker of the settle is unknown; it is believed to be either Harland and Fisher, who had made earlier pieces of furniture for Burges, or John Walden, who made the guest bedroom furniture for the Tower House. The settle featured in photographs published in 1885, taken in Buckingham Street by Burges's brother-in-law,

Richard Popplewell Pullan Richard Popplewell Pullan was an architect and brother-in-law of William Burges. He is known for his work in archaeology including the discovery of the Lion of Knidos. Life Pullan was born at Knaresborough on 27 March 1825. He was articled to Ri ...

. The settle is shown with an embroidered panel and three seat cushions.

History

Designed by Burges for himself, the Zodiac settle was originally placed in his rooms at 15 Buckingham Street on The Strand in London, and later moved to

around 1878, when Burges first occupied the house. The Tower House was designed by Burges by himself. Burges continued to work on Tower House until his death in 1881, and the Zodiac settle was placed opposite the drawing room windows in Tower House. The decoration of the drawing room remained unfinished upon Burges's death. The Tower House was subsequently owned by Burges's brother-in-law, Pullan, and then by Colonel T. H. Minshall in the 1920s. Minshall offered the Zodiac settle and other items from Tower House for sale in 1933, but the settle remained unsold. The Tower House was owned by Colonel E. R. B. Graham and his wife from 1933. The English poet

, a champion of the architecture of the Victorian Gothic Revival, later befriended the Grahams and Betjeman was given the remaining two-year lease on the Tower House and some of the furniture upon Mrs Graham's death in 1962. Betjeman subsequently gave the Zodiac settle as well as the "Narcissus washstand" and the "Philosophy cabinet" from Tower House to his friend, the novelist

. It is believed Betjeman gave them to Waugh to appease his wife, Penelope, who did not share his appreciation of Gothic Revival painted furniture. The "Philosophy cabinet" is now in the private collection of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

and the "Narcissus washstand" in the collection of The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum in Bedford. Waugh mentioned the settle in a letter to his daughter Margaret FitzHerbert in July 1965. Waugh wrote that the settle was "looking very well between the windows of the morning-room". The settle descended through the Waugh family before being acquired by The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum in 2011.

2011 acquisition

A temporary export bar was placed on the settle by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA). The RCEWA is part of the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

and advise the

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strateg ...

on matters concerning the exporting of objects of national interest. It was subsequently acquired by The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum in Bedford after a £480,000 grant from the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

(NHMF), £190,000 from the Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and £180,000 from the

Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

References

Sources

* * {{Good article 1871 in art Benches (furniture) William Burges furniture