Interior. Detail of overmantle in billiard room. Digital image of C 54091.

Description Interior. Detail of overmantle in billiard room. Digital image of C 54091.

Date 5/1995

Catalogue Number SC 772443

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 54091

Scope and Content Overmantel in billiard room, Newbattle Abbey House, Midlothian This shows a carved wooden overmantel panel in the billiard room. The left panel shows the arrival of the Queen of Sheba at King Solomon's court, bringing with her a camel train and rich goods to lay before his throne. The right panel shows the judgement of Solomon, where the king ordered a baby to be cut in two in front of two women to determine the real mother, who revealed her identity by crying out to spare the child. This panel conceals a cupboard, the keyhole of which can be seen within the mouth of the grotesque beast (centre). Billiard rooms were a predominantly male domain within the country house, and were typically furnished with dark woods, leather benches and armchairs and sporting prints. Gentlemen would use the room to play billiards, socialise and smoke after dinner. Newbattle Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1140, and its church dedicated to St Mary in 1233-4. It became a private residence in 1587 when the last abbot, Mark Kerr, converted to Protestantism and was able to retain his lands. His son became Lord Newbattle in 1596. The remains of the abbey are built into the surviving house, which was modified and rebuilt by the architects John Mylne (1650), William Burn (1836) and David Bryce (1858). The house was gifted to the nation in 1937 to be used as a further education college. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/772443

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap