Fusce at cursus eros. Nulla nec fringilla magna, id placerat nisi. Nam suscipit ex egestas varius aliquet. Etiam auctor consectetur lacinia. Vivamus sagittis orci eget hendrerit tempus. Quisque semper orci sit amet metus commodo, in eleifend nulla eleifend. Sed id enim eget tellus interdum pulvinar quis vitae enim. Praesent rutrum nec lacus ullamcorper interdum. Sed at purus non est malesuada aliquam. Donec auctor metus eleifend placerat accumsan. Aenean nisi urna, consequat et congue quis, varius sed sapien. Suspendisse id gravida sem. Mauris blandit posuere fermentum. Fusce sed elit imperdiet, blandit elit quis, ultrices tortor.

Kingscote Dining Room ‒ West
Sconces
Cellaret
Bell
Tea Service
Sideboard
Vernon Chairs
Hawkins Chairs
Vargueno Desk
Tile Jardiniere
Double Brazier
Archer Pancoast, Sconce, original to dining room, Kingscote, 1881. Repoussé brass. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

The sconces installed around the dining room, with their hammered surface and dahlia motifs, relate to the perception of sight. These sconces reflected sunlight during the day and gas lighting in the evening during a meal.

Newport cellaret, dining room, Kingscote, eighteenth century. Mahogany. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

The cellaret, with its compartments to hold glass bottles and jars, is one of the colonial revival references in the room. The cellaret would also catch the natural light with its smooth wooden surface. In addition to the leaded glass, the cellaret interacted with the warm-to-cool tones on surfaces in the room, adding to the ambient nature of the space.

Chinese temple bell, original to dining room, Kingscote, seventeenth century. Bronze. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County.

The bronze Chinese temple bell was connected to the King family’s business in China and references the international character of the room. The bell, inherited by David King Jr. from his uncle, is decorated with foliage and a dragon motif with calligraphy (not yet translated) raised from the surface. Whether used to announce dinner with a ringing sound or simply a decorative detail for its beehive shape and glistening surface, the bell suggests the sonic nature of the interior. Located in the corner of the dining room, the bell could trigger sounds across the space and engage the sonic perception of the visitor.

Gale & Hayden, New York, Five-piece silver tea service, original to dining room, Kingscote, mid-nineteenth century. Sterling silver. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

This five-piece sterling silver tea service was placed on the built-in sideboard in the dining room and includes a coffee pot, teapot, covered sugar bowl, creamer, and slop basin. The service is decorated with rural landscapes in relief and decorative foliage along the handles. During the designated hour for taking tea, the King family members or guests would interact with this silver set, which would lead directly to gustatory stimulation. Each piece of this service provokes the sense of taste in some capacity, whether drinking beverages or adding sugar or cream to one’s cup.

McKim, Mead & White, Built-in sideboard, dining room, Kingscote, 1881. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

This sideboard, a piece of decorative furniture designed by McKim, Mead & White and associated here with smell and taste, occupied the northern portion of the room. This built-in furnishing includes carved spindles and shells, references to the architectural firm’s interest in the American colonial revival.[1] McKim, Mead & White were captivated by early colonial buildings and created “modernized colonial” structures and decorative designs.[2] Three scallop-shell arcades appear across the top of the sideboard, suggesting the colonial mahogany furniture studied by the architects. Open shelves along the top present the family’s silver and porcelain and additional dining-related accoutrements and glassware peek out from behind the spindles, offering distinct reminders of the meals in the room. The sideboard not only held objects associated with dining but it also served the utilitarian purpose of displaying dishes, with their accompanying aromas. In the course of a meal, staff laid out dishes or silver on the lower portion of the sideboard and eventually moved them to the center table.

Notes

[1] Inspired by the picturesque qualities of Newport residences, Charles McKim directed the firm to study early American architecture. McKim also called for the preservation of colonial buildings so that one might study their “picturesque features” in the The New York Sketch Book of Architecture (December 22, 1874; January 1874).

[2] Leland Roth and Bret Morgan, Shingle Styles: Innovation and Tradition in American Architecture, 1874 to 1982 (New York: Norfleet Press and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999), 10, 18; Roth, McKim, Mead & White, Architects (New York: Harper & Row, 1983), 58.

George E. Vernon & Co., Colonial-style dining chair, original to dining room, Kingscote, 1881. Mahogany, leather, and cane. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

These George E. Vernon & Co. chairs, made of mahogany, leather, and cane, were directly commissioned by either David King Jr. or Stanford White to decorate the new dining room. The chairs correspond to the American colonial revival references found throughout the dining room but also directly offered visitors a tactile interaction with objects in the space. The King family and guests would run their hands across the hard, smooth edges of the mahogany armrests when seated at the dining table or press into the soft leather upholstery of the tufted seat cushions. The visitor could experience their sensorial nature during these haptic moments.

A. P. Hawkins, Pair of ebony and ivory inlaid hall chairs, original to dining room, Kingscote, 1878. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

This pair of chairs would likely have been frequently rearranged around the room. With the ebony-and-ivory inlaid surfaces of their supports, these furnishings would spur a tactile interaction for those sitting in them, especially the decorative raised edges of the wood with its curvilinear designs and carved edges. Like the variety of chairs placed throughout the space, the A. P. Hawkins hall chairs added to the haptic nature of the dining room by creating a physical connection between beholder and object. This chair model also appeared as an illustration in Clarence Cook’s The House Beautiful (1878).[1]

Notes

[1] Clarence Cook, The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks (New York: Scribner, Armstrong and Company, 1878), 34.

Spanish vargueno and details, dining room, Kingscote, seventeenth century. Walnut inlaid with ebony and ivory. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

The vargueno with drawers and iron carrying handles includes a stand with a frieze and chamfered square legs on trestle feet, decorated in a Mudejar style with geometric patterns. This object was listed in the late nineteenth-century inventory of the dining room. While it may have been purely decorative for the King family rather than an actively used desk, the angular, smooth handles along the vargueno rely upon one’s sense of sight to take in the decorative details.

Minton-tile jardinières (one shown here), original to dining room, Kingscote, nineteenth century. Wooden frames with glazed earthenware. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

These Minton-tile jardinières from the nineteenth century were original to the dining room. They consist of wooden frames with glazed earthenware tiles. Located near the window, the jardinières were decorated with scenes depicting the months of the year and would likely have held fresh flowers from the Kingscote grounds. When placed by open windows, the floral arrangements and their scents would be carried into the room.

Spanish double brazier and detail, original to dining room, Kingscote, nineteenth century. Brass. Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Image courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County.

The brass brazier was perhaps introduced into the room by Stanford White as an “exotic” object to offer visual delight along with the Spanish vargueno cabinet. Similar to the other objects from around the globe acquired by White for the space, the brazier produced tactile interactions while reminding the visitor of the cosmopolitan nature of the dining room. The raised edges of the brazier’s decoration include hammered surfaces and surrounding heraldic motifs and cherubic faces. Each raised bead that trims the object could be handled by family members or guests while sitting in the nearby leather chairs placed near the fireplace. The brazier includes brass hardware and delineated surfaces with curved supports, inviting a tactile interaction with the dweller and evoking a further haptic connection to the space.

Kingscote Dining Room ‒ West

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Fig. #, Kingscote Dining Room.

Nulla dictum ornare nulla, et convallis velit efficitur non. Suspendisse ac molestie ligula. In dictum ut nulla in posuere. Fusce dapibus nisi non imperdiet varius. Donec quis vulputate est, eu tincidunt eros. Praesent aliquam ut nulla vel tristique. Phasellus in eros interdum, laoreet ex vitae, ornare tortor. Nam viverra semper sem, quis elementum mauris pellentesque at. Mauris dictum feugiat sapien.

Kingscote First Floor Plan

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Fig. #, Kingscote First Floor Plan.

Fusce at cursus eros. Nulla nec fringilla magna, id placerat nisi. Nam suscipit ex egestas varius aliquet. Etiam auctor consectetur lacinia. Vivamus sagittis orci eget hendrerit tempus. Quisque semper orci sit amet metus commodo, in eleifend nulla eleifend. Sed id enim eget tellus interdum pulvinar quis vitae enim. Praesent rutrum nec lacus ullamcorper interdum. Sed at purus non est malesuada aliquam. Donec auctor metus eleifend placerat accumsan. Aenean nisi urna, consequat et congue quis, varius sed sapien. Suspendisse id gravida sem. Mauris blandit posuere fermentum. Fusce sed elit imperdiet, blandit elit quis, ultrices tortor.

First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan

Fig. 16, Richard Upjohn Kingscote Plans.

Fusce at cursus eros. Nulla nec fringilla magna, id placerat nisi. Nam suscipit ex egestas varius aliquet. Etiam auctor consectetur lacinia. Vivamus sagittis orci eget hendrerit tempus. Quisque semper orci sit amet metus commodo, in eleifend nulla eleifend. Sed id enim eget tellus interdum pulvinar quis vitae enim. Praesent rutrum nec lacus ullamcorper interdum. Sed at purus non est malesuada aliquam. Donec auctor metus eleifend placerat accumsan. Aenean nisi urna, consequat et congue quis, varius sed sapien. Suspendisse id gravida sem. Mauris blandit posuere fermentum. Fusce sed elit imperdiet, blandit elit quis, ultrices tortor.

Richard Upjohn
McKim, Mead & White

Fig. 17, Kingscote First Floor Plans. Mouseover to highlight the McKim, Mead & White dining room.

Nulla dictum ornare nulla, et convallis velit efficitur non. Suspendisse ac molestie ligula. In dictum ut nulla in posuere. Fusce dapibus nisi non imperdiet varius. Donec quis vulputate est, eu tincidunt eros. Praesent aliquam ut nulla vel tristique. Phasellus in eros interdum, laoreet ex vitae, ornare tortor. Nam viverra semper sem, quis elementum mauris pellentesque at. Mauris dictum feugiat sapien.

10:00 AM
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
3:30 PM
4:30 PM
5:00 PM
8:00 PM

Fig. #, Tiffany & Co. Tiles. Click to show/hide: Key meal times for the Kingscote family highlighted.

Fusce at cursus eros. Nulla nec fringilla magna, id placerat nisi. Nam suscipit ex egestas varius aliquet. Etiam auctor consectetur lacinia. Vivamus sagittis orci eget hendrerit tempus. Quisque semper orci sit amet metus commodo, in eleifend nulla eleifend. Sed id enim eget tellus interdum pulvinar quis vitae enim. Praesent rutrum nec lacus ullamcorper interdum. Sed at purus non est malesuada aliquam. Donec auctor metus eleifend placerat accumsan. Aenean nisi urna, consequat et congue quis, varius sed sapien. Suspendisse id gravida sem. Mauris blandit posuere fermentum. Fusce sed elit imperdiet, blandit elit quis, ultrices tortor.

Fig. 43, Details of D. Turno, Leaded-glass windows, Kingscote, 1881. Leaded glass. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Nulla dictum ornare nulla, et convallis velit efficitur non. Suspendisse ac molestie ligula. In dictum ut nulla in posuere. Fusce dapibus nisi non imperdiet varius. Donec quis vulputate est, eu tincidunt eros. Praesent aliquam ut nulla vel tristique. Phasellus in eros interdum, laoreet ex vitae, ornare tortor. Nam viverra semper sem, quis elementum mauris pellentesque at. Mauris dictum feugiat sapien.

Fig. 67, Details of objects in the dining room (Spanish double brazier, Minton yellow-ground cabinet plates, Samuel Jackson basin, Jacobean-style carved oak side chair, and sideboard hardware), Kingscote. The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport. Images courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County and the author.

Fusce at cursus eros. Nulla nec fringilla magna, id placerat nisi. Nam suscipit ex egestas varius aliquet. Etiam auctor consectetur lacinia. Vivamus sagittis orci eget hendrerit tempus. Quisque semper orci sit amet metus commodo, in eleifend nulla eleifend. Sed id enim eget tellus interdum pulvinar quis vitae enim. Praesent rutrum nec lacus ullamcorper interdum. Sed at purus non est malesuada aliquam. Donec auctor metus eleifend placerat accumsan. Aenean nisi urna, consequat et congue quis, varius sed sapien. Suspendisse id gravida sem. Mauris blandit posuere fermentum. Fusce sed elit imperdiet, blandit elit quis, ultrices tortor.