Traquair House, 1st. floor, High Drawing-room, view from North. Digital image of D 59923 CN.

Description Traquair House, 1st. floor, High Drawing-room, view from North. Digital image of D 59923 CN.

Date 11/10/1999

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 759991

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 59923 CN

Scope and Content Drawing room from north, Traquair House, Scottish Borders This shows the 'high' drawing room (to distinguish it from the 'low' one in the south wing) with its alcove framed by Corinthian pilasters and panelled walls. Above the doors are painted 'trophies' representing the Arts, which were executed between 1745 and 1764. The dark beam (top left) has been left exposed to show part of a painted ceiling dating from the late 16th/early 17 centuries. Guests and family would 'withdraw' to this comfortably-furnished room after dinner for further entertainment and drinks. The circular table holds an item of decorative pink-tinted glassware called an 'epergne' which would be filled with flowers and used as a table centrepiece during grand 19th-century dinners. Traquair is the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland, with its origins in the 10th century. It was the site of a royal hunting lodge in the 1200s, but the house as seen today is based around a c.1512 tower-house with many later additions. The flanking service wings were built in 1695 to designs by architect James Smith (c.1645-1731), who also designed the wrought-iron screens round the courtyard in 1698. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/759991

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap