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During the late 18th / early 19th century, the rooms to the left
and right of the entrance hall were probably formal and restricted
to family and visitors and their personal slaves. It would be here
that business was done, social and political gossip exchanged and
the family's achievements put on display.
Today the drawing room reflects many aspects of this Dutch colonial
life. Amongst the furniture is a
gabled bureau-bookcase,
indispensable around 1800. This one has been adapted as a display
cabinet. The sofa, dated to c.1770, came from the Cape Orphan
Chamber and is mentioned in the Chamber's inventory. Two small
portraits on the wall depict Rev François Le Sueur, minister of the
Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Town from about 1729 to 1744, and his
wife, Johanna Catharina le Sueur, née Swellengrebel (1711–1740).
Johanna Catharina was the sister of Hendrik Swellengrebel, Governor
of the Cape from 1739 to 1751.
Various Cape personalities are depicted in the miniatures above the
fireplace: Petrus Borchardus Borcherds, born in Cape Town in 1786;
Susanna van der Poel, née Smuts, born in 1743; an unidentified
gentleman and an unidentified lady from the late 18th century; and a
miniature of Anna Geertruida Wykerd from c.1830. The fireplace
itself is a very rare feature of the period, probably owing to
climatic conditions, lack of firewood or danger of fires. Instead,
foot warmers were used in which a container with hot coals was
inserted. There is another, probably 19th century, fireplace in the
music room of the house.
Being the halfway station between Europe and the East, many Eastern
ceramics found their way to the Cape, such as the blue and white
porcelain tulip vase, the famille rose
dinner and tea
services from the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the
Japanese imari covered jar from the same period.
The stinkwood gabled display cabinet built into the wall, dated
c.1750, originates from the farm Leeuwenjacht, Paarl. It was
installed by Dr WF Purcell . Its contents comprise a variety of
famille rose porcelain made for Rudolph Cloete of Constantia,
1790–1800. A duplicate of this cupboard can be seen in the morning
room. They were used as display cabinets for glass or porcelain.
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