This settee is part of a set of seat furniture made for the Painted Room at Spencer House, London. The design is exceptionally bold, with winged lions forming the arms of the settees. James Stuart, the architect who designed the house and many of its furnishings was one of the first architects in Britain to work in the new Neoclassical style. For the Painted Room he had the walls painted with arabesques and oval panels, imitating the style of decoration found during the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii. His design for the seat furniture probably took its inspiration from Greek and Roman thrones in stone. These often showed seats supported on mythical beasts.
These settees are now once more on show at Spencer House. Please follow this link to be directed to the Spencer House website: http://www.spencerhouse.co.uk/