A handcoloured etching of the great staircase at Kensington Palace, a luxury version of one of the plates from William Henry Pyne's 'History of the Royal Residences'. Between 1725 and 1727, William Kent created an illusionistic decoration for the Great Staircase at Kensington Palace. Rather than Roman gods and heroes, as would have been fashionable in previous reigns, Kent depicted members of George I's court, including the King's Turkish valets Mustapha and Mehement. Kent's staircase's decorative scheme therefore was a distinctive departure from earlier creations of the Baroque era.