Two of the ceilings in Townley Hall, County Louth, that of the drawing room (above) and the entrance hall (below). Dating from the late 1790s Townley has been discussed here before, not least its rotunda stairhall (see Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté, June 10th) but amply repays further visits. The neo-classical masterpiece of Francis Johnston, the house owes as much to the couple responsible for its commissioning – Blayney Townley and Lady Florence Balfour – as to the architect. As these photographs show, the purity of decoration throughout is flawless.
The terracotta panels with their flower (chrysanthemum?) motif is very reminiscent of the cypher of the Imperial Family of Japan, (the Chrysanthemum Throne), although I don’t suppose there is any connection.
Thanks for the comment but I suspect there is no connection, and in part it looks like a chrysanthemum motif because of the present colour scheme. When the house was built and decorated, Japan was still closed to the outside world…