Search results

Start typing

Queen Victoria's Palace
This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.
DOWBIGGIN & CO., 23 MOUNT STREET

Queen Victoria's Throne

1837

Carved giltwood, velvet | 177.8 x 94.0 x 86.4 cm (whole object) | RCIN 2608

Throne chair of carved gilt wood, upholstered in crimson velvet and lacework; the top rail carved with a crown, VR cipher and national emblems; the frame of the chair elaborately decorated with foliage of oak leaves, acanthus scrolls, and berried laurel.

This imposing State Throne Chair was made in 1837 for Queen Victoria for the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. It is upholstered in crimson velvet. The frame is gilded with a delicate and elaborate pattern of acanthus and oak leaves. The juxtaposition of the red crimson velvet against the sumptuously gilded frame creates a dazzling contrast. The large, almost square back is carved with the Royal Emblems: the rose, the shamrock and the thistle. These are surmounted at the top with the Royal Crown.

The chair was made by the English manufacturer Dowbiggin based at 9 Mount Street in Mayfair and together with its platform and canopy cost £1187. Dowbiggin were a successful manufacturer of high quality fashionable furniture; Thomas Dowbiggin's daughter Elizabeth Halsal married into another royal furniture manufacturing family with her union to Charles Trotter of Edinburgh. Dowbiggin ceased trading in 1895 and their business was taken over by the successful firm Holland and Sons, also makers of high quality antique furniture.

    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.