Chips Channon's Dining Room

The Dining Room at 5 Belgrave Square, London.
Photo from JANSEN by James Archer Abbott.

Regular readers of The Devoted Classicist are familiar with this writer's admiration for the work of legendary decorator Stephane Boudin who was president of the firm, Maison Jansen, from 1935 to 1961 (although his work for the company spans before and after those dates).  So indulgence is begged for a fourth consecutive post on the work of Boudin.  The commission that brought Boudin and Maison Jansen to international decorating status was the dining room 1935-6 at 5 Belgrave Square, London, for American-born Henry "Chips" Channon and his heiress wife, Lady Honor Guinness of the brewing dynasty.

The Dining Room at 5 Belgrave Square, London.
Photo from JANSEN by James Archer Abbott.

Chips Channon, heir to a shipping fortune, became a British subject and a member of Parliament.  But a large part of his efforts went to befriending English and Continental royalty, and he is now best  known for his diaries published after his death.  "Monsieur Boudin of Jansen came to us this morning with his final drawings and estimates for our dining-room which is to imitate and, I hope, rival the Amalienburg.  It will shimmer in blue and silver, and have an ochre and silver gallery leading to it.  It will shock and stagger London.  And it will cost over [GBP] 6,000...." Channon recorded in 1935.  King Edward VIII came to dinner with Mrs. Simpson on June 11, 1936, with Channon writing "it was the very peak, the summit I suppose."

The Dining Room at 5 Belgrave Square, London.
Photo from JANSEN by James Archer Abbott.

The inspiration for the room was the Hall of Mirrors in the Amalienburg, the hunting lodge in the park of the Nymphenburg Palace near Munich.  It is unclear as to whether it was Channon or Boudin who proposed the concept of the Bavarian fantasy.  But author James Archer Abbott notes in his book JANSEN that Boudin did travel to the Amalienburg to study the room to serve as a model.  The existing Regency detailing was removed and Roccoco decoration was created in plaster and burnished with silver leaf against a background of aquamarine.  A set of silver chairs, at least 24 in number judging from the photos, were made in the Jansen workshops using a period example as the model and upholstered in aquamarine silk damask, the same fabric as used for the curtains.  But it is the dining table, designed by Boudin and also made by Jansen, that is the inspiration for this post.  The table, topped with squares of mirror, and three pairs of mirrored doors from the room were sold at auction, September 20, 2011, at Sotheby's, London, Sale L11302.

Lot 105, a large carved and painted extending dining table, 2ft 6in high, 25ft 4.5in long (extended), 4ft 11in wide.  Sold GBP 75,650 including Buyer's Premium, or about US $117,396.
Photo from Sotheby's.

Lot 106, three pairs of mirrored doors.  10ft 6in high, 2ft 3in wide.  Sold GBP 21,250 including Buyer's Premium, or about US $32,976.
Photo from Sotheby's.

The two spaces preceeding the entrance to the dining room were also decorated by Boudin as a processional transition to the grand room.  The first space was a small dining room with lighted display cases lined with white silk and glass shelves displaying 18th century porcelain to compensate for the lack of windows.  The second space was a passage based on a bedroom at the Amalienburg, lighted by candles in a porcelain and ormolu chandelier and matching sconces plus a lighted cove washing the vaulted ceiling with a glow.

A view from the small dining room, through the passage, to the grand dining room beyond.  Author James Archer Abbott describes the small dining room as having black walls like the background of the Bessarabian carpet, and the passage was apricot with silver leaf ornament.
Photo from JANSEN by James Archer Abbott.

The house was damaged by Nazi bombs in 1944, but later was restored by Channon who was divorced by his wife in 1945.  After Channon's death in 1958, the house was sold and divided into luxurious apartments.  The dining room was disassembled and stored at Channon's country home, Kelvedon Hall near Brentwood, Essex, where it presumably remained until sold by the estate of his only son Paul, Baron Kelvedon of Ongar, who died in 2007.

Henry "Chips" Channon with his son Paul, presumed to be named after his father's close friend Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.  They are in the library of the same house at 5 Belgrave Square decorated in the Neo-Regency style by Lord Gerald Wellesley and Trentwith Ellis.
Photo from CHIPS - THE DIARIES OF SIR HENRY CHANNON published by Phoenix Press.

More on this room and pictures of the inspirational Hall of Mirrors at the Amalienburg can be seen at a March 7, 2007 post of The Peak of Chic blog.  Much of the background information for this essay comes from the highly recommended book JANSEN by James Archer Abbott, published by Acanthus Press, 2006.  Additional information was provided by Sotheby's;  past auction results as well as information on upcoming events can be seen at their website.