Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Ceiling in the Shakespeare room

Ceiling in the Shakespeare room

1942

The exquisite plaster ceiling in the Shakespeare room is modelled on the ceiling of Cardinal Wolsey's closet at Hampton Court Palace in England. To construct the ceiling, photographs of the original ceiling were taken and then enlarged to actual size. Closely referencing the full-scale photos, a clay model was made in Art Plasto’s Sydney workshops and from this a mould was cast. Plaster was poured into the mould to produce the series of panels. Moulded ribbings, the most characteristic design feature of Tudor ceilings, hold the individual panels in place. The intricate design of the ceiling and the frieze which continues to the top of the woodwork features Prince of Wales feathers, Tudor roses, rosettes, mermen and mermaids, dolphins, vases and fleurs-de-lis (lilies).

The electrolier (light fitting) was manufactured by Chubb’s Australian Company and donated to the Library by Sir William Dixson, a major benefactor of the Library.

Fleur-de-lis

The fleur-de-lis (flower of the lily) is a traditional representation of French royalty but has been widely used throughout Europe with a variety of meanings attached. It was used by the English kings to highlight their claim to the French throne.

Prince of Wales feathers

Popular belief holds that these feathers were plucked from the headdress on the slain John of Bohemia by Edward the Black Prince at the battle of Crecy in 1346.

Tudor rose

The Tudor rose is a traditional floral heraldic emblem of the Tudors, who ruled Britain from 1485 to 1603. The emblem combines the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. Its creation marked the end of the English civil war, The War of the Roses, and was first used when Henry VII came to power in 1485. Elizabeth I was the last of the Tudor monarchs.