Interior, 1st. floor, ante-room, detail of carved wooden panel above door to drawing-room.

Description Interior, 1st. floor, ante-room, detail of carved wooden panel above door to drawing-room.

Date 16/11/1998

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number D 41680 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 767325

Scope and Content Detail of Carved Panel above East Door in Ante-Room, Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries & Galloway This 17th-century oak panel is set above the pedimented east door of the ante-room which leads to the drawing room (originally the state dining room). It contains a superbly executed limewood carving of foliage intertwined with the monogram, 'WD', of the 1st Duke of Queensberry, and is attributed to the English wood-carver, Grinling Gibbons. The carving, which originally hung in the state bedchamber, was executed between 1684 and the death of the 1st Duke in 1695. William, 1st Duke of Queensberry (1637-95), was a prominent figure in Scottish politics who became a member of the Privy Council to King Charles II in 1667. He was made Justice-General of Scotland in 1680, and then, in rapid succession, became Lord High Treasurer of Scotland and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He was created Marquess of Queensberry in 1682 and Duke of Queensberry in 1684. He built Drumlanrig Castle as his family seat, not only creating a house worthy of his family's new importance but one appealing to his own artistic sensibilities. However, he began to regret his extravagance and was said to have 'well-nigh ruined himself' in its construction. Drumlanrig Castle, one of the great Renaissance courtyard houses of Scottish domestic architecture, was built between 1679 and 1690 for William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry, on the site of a late 14th-century Douglas stronghold. The castle passed to the Dukes of Buccleuch in 1810, and is now the home of the 9th Duke (11th Duke of Queensberry). It houses many great family treasures and important works of art, including magnificent carvings and a fine collection of paintings. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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