Decorative Art

English, late 16th - early 17th century
detail from the Paneled Room, 1619
Oak, with painted plaster overmantel
Gift of Preston Pope Satterwhite, in memory of Hattie Bishop Speed 1944.31

This oak paneling originally was carved for the formal reception room of Grange, a house in the village of Broadhembury in the county of Devon in southwestern England. The paneling is dated 1619 above the fireplace.

The elaborateness of this carved paneling sets it apart from other existing English paneled rooms of the period, as few contain such rich carvings. Perhaps most impressive is the sense of design evident on the west wall, where every surface is decorated, and in the repetition of arches throughout the room, which unifies the complex architectural and narrative schemes.

The house that contained the paneling was named Grange, for a granary or barn that previously stood on the site. Edward Drewe, a prominent judge and Parliament member who was appointed to the prestigious position of sergeant to Queen Elizabeth, most likely began constructing Grange in the 1590s. After he died in 1598, his son Thomas, also a prominent citizen who was knighted at the coronation of King James I in 1603, completed the house by 1610 and established it as his family’s home, where members of the Drewe family continued to live for nearly 300 years.

In the early 1900s, the house was sold, and in the 1920s, the paneling was removed and sold separately to William Randolph Hearst, noted American newspaperman and art collector. In 1944, Dr. Preston Pope Satterwhite purchased the paneling and gave it to the Speed Art Museum.

The carved scenes in the paneling suggest an overall theme of the importance of making good moral choices. This subject was common among 16th- and 17th-century English artists, who often were inspired by emblem books containing illustrations with moral interpretations. Visitors to Grange familiar with these books would have understood these carvings and their implications.