AL Brochure Oct 2013 | Page 15

THE KING WILLIAM BEDROOM BUREAU CABINET (AL65002) A fine flame mahogany bureau cabinet, the domed top with turned finials, the glazed door enclosing pigeon holes, twenty three drawers and a mirror panel cupboard, flanked by five drawers to each side, above a sloping fall opening to reveal a fitted interior and a leather writing surface, above five drawers, on bracket feet. AFFAIRS OF STATE Inspired by the George III original in the King William Bedroom at Althorp. Given its date the bureau would have been commissioned by the 2nd Earl Spencer from a leading London cabinetmaker such as Thomas Chippendale or George Hepplewhite. The King William Bedroom was the State Bedroom at the time of the Second Earl of Sunderland. The bedroom remains today as a guest room. It is known as the King William bedroom because William III slept in this room in 1695, when the bed canopy was decorated with ostrich feathers. 13