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The music room with its square piano from c.1830 is characterised
by the beautiful spiral friezes and medallion painted above the
fireplace. In one corner stands a Cape gabled corner cupboard with a
Japanese Imari porcelain garniture set on top of the cornice. Such
garniture sets were made especially to decorate gabled cupboards,
and there is a similar set in the dining room.
Important ceramics in this room include a covered baluster jar which
dates from the 17th century, which is one of the earliest pieces in
the house. Armorial porcelain can be viewed in the display cabinet.
An interesting example is a plate from the first half of the 18th
century (middle shelf), adorned at the centre with the arms of John
White, an Englishman who came to the Cape in 1700. He married into a
Dutch family and identified himself so closely with his new country
that he chose to be known as Jan de Wit. He became a prominent Cape
resident and held official positions on several occasions during the
1730's and 1740's. The plate formed part of a dinner service ordered
from China between 1740 and 1750. De Wit died in 1755. This item of
armorial porcelain is possibly the earliest in South Africa.
The settee was once used in the Wale Street office of the civil
commissioner of the Cape, prior to which it was used in the office
of the Council of Policy at the Castle.
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