The ornamental carvings by Grinling Gibbons and others in the State Apartments at Windsor Castle have been celebrated since they were first installed for Charles II in the 1670s and 1680s. During James Wyatt’s extensive alterations for George III at the beginning of the nineteenth century some rearrangement of the carvings took place, probably supervised by Wyatt’s cousin Edward, who held the post of carver and gilder to the Office of Works from 1798. At the same time as the King’s Dining Room was refurnished as the State Bedchamber, at George III’s command, and the spectacular Gibbons carvings there were removed to store, Wyatt carved for the Queen’s Audience Chamber a new overmantel panel of such technical virtuosity and sophistication that it must be seen as a direct challenge by Wyatt to the achievements of Gibbons: it is shown in position in a watercolour by C. Wild.

Wyatt’s carefully worded account (amounting to £170) for this exquisite carving reveals an iconographic programme of great deliberation, suggesting at least the possibility of the King’s personal involvement in its creation. The elements of earth and water are symbolised in the cornucopiae flanking the royal coat of arms, which is surmounted by entwined roses and shamrocks representing the Union and is supported on the back of the British lion. The lion suppresses the force of arms (the fasces and other militaria); the shield of the City is bound to the anchor by laurels with emblems of Commerce and Justice; the Order of the Garter is supported by branches of oak for strength and the Order of the Bath by the laurels of Victory. Finally Wyatt notes that the medals in the left cornucopia ‘are rewards His Majesty presents to his most deserving Subjects’.

Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004