STATE COACHES.
A Coach of Silver--Lord Castlemaine’s Coach--Spanish Ambassador’s
Coach--Ancient Spanish Coach--Austrian State Coach--State Funeral
Coach at Vienna--State Coach of England--City State Coach.
In Count Gozzadini’s work on Ancient Carriages there is an account of a
State Coach which was built under the direction of an Italian at
Brussels, for the ceremony of the marriage of Alexander, the son of
Octavius Farnese, Duke of Parma, with a Portuguese princess. The wedding
took place in 1565 at Brussels. There were four carriages Flanders
fashion, and four coaches after the Italian fashion, swinging on leather
braces. The chief, or state coach, is described as built in the most
beautiful manner, with four statues at the ends, the spokes of the
wheels like fluted columns. There were seraphims’ heads at the ends of
the roof and over the doorway, and festoons of fruit in relief on the
framing of the body. The coachman was supported by two carved figures of
lions, two similar lions were at the hind end, and the leather braces
that supported the body and the harness were embossed with heads of
animals. The ends of the steps were serpents’ heads. The whole of the
wood and ironwork was covered with gold, relieved with white. The coach
was drawn by four horses, with red and white plumes of feathers, and the
covering of the body and of the horses was gold brocade with knotted
red silk fringe. The cushions of embroidered gold stuff were perfumed
“with amber and musk, that infused the soul of all who entered the coach
with life, joy, and supreme pleasure.” The horses were cream colour. All
this description would fit very much with the coach of the Duke of Saxe
Coburg built twenty years later [Plate No. 10], except that the carving
of the Brussels coach was superior, which is probably due to Capt.
Francisco Marchi, of Bologna, who designed the whole.
A State Coach on a far more ambitious scale is described in the same
work, which was built in Italy, for the marriage of Duke Edward Farnese
with Lady Margaret of Tuscany in 1629. The body was lined with crimson
velvet and gold thread, and the woodwork covered with silver plates,
chased and embossed and perforated, in half relief. It could carry eight
persons: four on the seats attached to the doors, and four in the back
and front. The roof was supported by eight silver columns, on the roof
were eight silver vases, and unicorns’ heads and lilies in full relief
projected from the roof and ends of the body here and there. The roof
was composed of twenty sticks, converging from the edge to the centre,
which was crowned with a great rose with silver leaves on the outside,
and inside by the armorial bearings of the Princes of Tuscany and
Farnese held up by cupids. The curtains of the sides and back of the
coach were of crimson velvet, embroidered with silver lilies with gold
leaves. At the back and the front of the coach-carriage were statues of
unicorns, surrounded by cupids and wreathed with lilies, grouped round
the standards from which the body was suspended; on the tops of the
standards were silver vases, with festoons of fruit, and wrought in
silver. In the front were also statues of Justice and Mercy, supporting
the coachman’s seat. The braces suspending the body were of leather,
covered with crimson velvet; the wheels and pole were plated with
polished silver. The whole was drawn by six horses, with harness and
trappings covered with velvet, embroidered with gold and silver thread,
and with silver buckles. It is said that twenty-five excellent
silversmiths worked at this coach for two years, and used up 25,000
ounces of silver; and that the work was superintended by two master
coachbuilders, one from Parma and the other from Piacenza.
An embassy was sent in the latter years of his reign by King James II.
to Pope Innocent XI. at Rome, headed by Lord Castlemaine. An account was
written of all the state and pomp with which he was received in Rome; a
copy of this work is at the hall of the Coach and Coach-harness Makers.
On Lord Castlemaine’s state entry into Rome, January 8th, 1687, a
procession was formed of three hundred and thirty coaches. The
ambassador had thirteen coaches of his own, in all probability built for
him at Rome. Two of these were state coaches, and certainly were Roman.
The bodies of these coaches were similar to that of Louis XIV., without
glass in the doors or sides. They were hung inside and out with
beautifully embroidered cloths, the one coach with crimson, the other
with azure blue velvet, and gold and silver work. The roofs were adorned
with scroll work and vases gilt; under the roof were curtains with
silver fringes, and the ambassador’s armorial bearings. The carriage of
the principal coach was adorned in front with two large Tritons, of
carved wood, gilt all over, that supported a cushion for the coachman
between them, and from their shoulders the braces depended. The
foot-board was formed by a conch shell, between two dolphins. In the
rear of the coach were two more Tritons, supporting not only the leather
braces of the coach, but two other statues of Neptune and Cybele, who in
turn held a royal crown. Below Neptune and Cybele, and projecting
backwards, were a lion and a unicorn, and several cupids and wreaths of
flowers. The wheels had moulded rims, and the spokes were hidden by
curving foliage carving. The second coach had plainer wheels and fewer
statues about it. In both, the size of the wheels were, as well as I can
judge, 2 ft. 6 in. and 4 ft. high, and the length apart 12 ft. The whole
appearance of these coaches may have been magnificent, but certainly not
beautiful.[3]
There are a few records of a magnificent state coach that was built in
1713 for the Duke of Ossuna, ambassador from Philip V. of Spain on the
occasion of making the peace of Utrecht. The body was in shape somewhat
similar to Lord Darnley’s chariot at the South Kensington Museum, with
the doorway projecting downwards some ten inches below the bottom sides,
the quarters rake towards the roof considerably, the roof over the
doorway is arched upwards, the upper quarters are fitted with large
glasses of mirror plate-glass. It is elaborately and beautifully carved
with figures of Tritons and Nymphs, cupids and lions. The wheels have
carved spokes and felloes. It is hung upon leather braces from the usual
standard posts, which are carved into figures of men and women, and the
supports into figures of boys and baskets of fruit. There is a
hammer-cloth cushion in front, and a footboard supported by Tritons
blowing horns. The description of this coach was published at Amsterdam.
There is at Madrid a very old coach of a similar shape to this, with
many small points so similar as, I think, clearly to mark it out as
belonging to the same period. The standards both in front and behind of
the Spanish coach are, however, of beautifully wrought scroll ironwork.
The body and wheels are of carved wood stained black, the whole of the
panels and framing are worked over with very elegant carving, the centre
of each panel is a medallion containing figures of females of beautiful
forms. There is a photograph of this at Coachmakers’ Hall. It is,
however, ascribed erroneously to the time of Jeanne La Folle, as Queen
Joanna, the mother of Charles V., died in 1555. It is certain that the
Spanish tradition of its age is incorrect. The wheels have the spokes
turned in spiral form, the rims of the wheels are moulded and carved.
The windows, eight in number, I am informed, have been refitted with
wooden frames. This coach is deserving of careful study; it is certainly
in many points what a State Coach should be. There are no fittings for
servants or driver. It was the custom for many years in Spain to drive
postillion, because a coachman of the Duke of Olivarez having overheard
and betrayed a state secret, the duke ordered that coachmen should no
longer be allowed in Spain.
Our excellent ambassador at Madrid, who takes a great interest in
antiquarian researches, has kindly sent me the particulars respecting
this Spanish coach, and obtained from the king’s librarian the further
information that it is not mentioned in any inventory of the royal goods
until the early part of the eighteenth century; the librarian’s opinion
is that the coach belonged to Charles II. of Spain, who died in 1700,
and left his kingdom to Philip V., the grandson of Louis XIV., King of
France. The coach in shape so closely resembles the coaches of 1700
[Plate 17], that there is no doubt it belonged either to Charles II. or
Philip V., Kings of Spain.
One of the most beautiful of State Coaches is that belonging to the
Imperial family at Vienna. There are photographs of it in Coachmakers’
Hall, but to be perfectly appreciated it should be seen. The proportions
are almost perfect, and the finish of the mouldings and carvings is
exquisite. It was built in 1696, and is shaped with all the curves that
are familiar to us in cabinets and furniture of the style called Louis
Quatorze, and in which a straight line is so carefully avoided. The body
is very deep, and longer on the roof than at the elbows; the doorway is
depressed to hide the steps. The panels are beautifully painted with
nymphs in the style of Rubens; indeed, one is told at Vienna that Rubens
painted them himself, but that is another instance of the inaccuracy of
many local traditions, as Rubens died in 1640. There is an unusual
quantity of plate-glass in the panels of the coach, that help to give it
a light and airy appearance. The centre of the roof has a large Imperial
crown, and large tassels hang from the four corners of the roof, where
modern Coachbuilders would place lamps. The body hangs very low. The
carriage has a single perch with double cranes, corresponding very
closely with those on Lord Darnley’s chariot at South Kensington. The
standards in the front and hind parts are lofty, elegantly shaped and
carved, and strengthened with boldly curved iron stays. The body is hung
upon eight leather braces, four of which are arranged on the Berlin
plan, and four are attached to short elbow springs beneath the bottom of
the body. There are six of these little steel springs at each corner.
The wheels are about 3 ft. and 4 ft. 9 in. high, and are very elegantly
formed with carved rims, and the spokes each of a shape, with three
curves in it. There are no fittings for coachman or footman. The whole
of the wood and ironwork is gilt, the panels only are in the colour of a
landscape with figures.
It is a singular thing that there is a second coach of the same shape
and date, but with the wheels and other fittings of a plainer
description, and all black inside and out, with the Imperial arms in
bronze relief on the doors. This black state coach is for funerals.
There were a number of state coaches built about this period for the
different courts of Europe;[4] but without illustrations of each,
descriptions would not give much idea of their shapes. The general
character of each is that of a rather lumbering body, profusely carved,
gilded, and adorned, placed on a very lumbering carriage, on some of
which are introduced figures of gods and goddesses or animals, appearing
to hold up the heavy body by leather braces.
The last, and probably much the largest of these, is the State Coach of
England, built for King George III. It is not known who built it; it was
designed by an amateur, who could not be expected, perhaps, to consider
so much its usefulness as a certain massive grandeur which he expected
to gain from an exaggeration of some of the principal parts, such as the
body, the total length, and the hind wheels. This coach, built in 1761,
was designed by Sir William Chambers; the length is 24 feet, the height
12 feet, the width 8 feet; the weight is stated as 4 tons. The
introduction of the figures of four Tritons, to support the braces, is
probably imitated from Lord Castlemaine’s coach of 1687, but it would
have been better to have introduced such figures as leaning against the
standard-posts, than to make the figures themselves the bearers. Why the
coach was not hung upon =C= springs, or rather whip springs, it is very
difficult to say, as they were in common use in 1760.
The City State Coach was built in 1757, about the same time as the royal
coach. It is, in some respects, in better taste and proportions, but is
very unwieldy still. It deserves some study, recollecting in how many
city shows it has borne a conspicuous place. The body is the Louis
Quatorze shape. The panels would look better if they were repainted;
fresh colours would lighten the whole coach. It is to be regretted that
the name of the builder is not on record at Guildhall. But, in the same
year, a state coach was supplied to Sir Charles Asgill by Messrs
Runciman and Barker for £860; it was refitted the following year for Sir
Richard Glyn, and successively for Sir Thomas Chitty, Sir Matthew
Blakiston, Sir Samuel Fludyer, and lastly for Mr William Beckford. It
was, probably, from the original cost, only a second coach, and appears
to have been newly painted and otherwise adorned for each successive
Lord Mayor.
If the present City State Coach is to be kept for state use it should be
supplied with springs. The city coachmaker, who has for some time had
the charge of this coach, could add springs without any difficulty, and
without much expense.
[Illustration: PLATE 26. FROM A PRINT PUBLISHED AT ROME 1692.]
[Illustration]