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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
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Chariot
Closed carriage with black painted bodywork driver’s box covered with a navy blue fringed mantle. 2 forward facing seats and 2 front windows.
Interior The interior is upholstered in blue, watered, ribbed silk and navy blue fulled wool with horse hair stuffing and a floral patterned blue wool carpet. There are trimmings of wool and silk broad lace with a rectangular chain design, simple silk blue pasting lace and wool and silk seaming lace with a spiral motif. The front panel has a large, wide, flapped pocket which is trimmed with broad lace and lined with cotton. Each window has a long glass string which is made from broad lace and lined with leather, there is a tassel and toggle on the end and it is attached to the frame with an ivory fixing.
The doors are covered in wool and trimmed with pasting lace around the edges and seaming lace around the window frame. There is a flapped pocket on each door trimmed with broad lace and a glass string which hangs over the pocket. The steps fold back against the lower panel when the door is closed.
The floor is lined with wool carpet which extends over the thresholds and is also used on the standing surfaces of the steps. The flexible sides of the steps are wool backed with leather. The ceiling is covered in wool and the top edges are trimmed with broad lace and seaming lace.
On each side there are upper and lower panels both covered in watered silk and divided by an arm rest. The panels are stuffed with horsehair and quilted with silk covered buttons; between the panel and the door is a pillar holder which is made from broad lace with a silk back and soft filling and silk covered pillar roses where the ends meet the panel. The bottom end is trimmed with a tassel and a toggle.
The blinds are made from plain woven silk and are simply turned at the edges; they each have a wooden dowel in the hem to weigh them down. There are also silk tassels attached to the blind cords.
Underneath the seat a small linen bag was found containing the following items: 2 thick navy wool strap with tassels (exterior straps), navy webbing with leather straps and buckles attached, 1 navy wool strap with no tassel, 2 blue silk tassels from the interior, 2 blue silk buttons from the interior, 3 leather loops, 1 leather strap with buckle and 1 leather strap.
The Mantle is a large cover for the driver’s seat it is a stiff construction with layers of hessian and navy coloured heavy fulled wool. It is shaped in folds over the corners and pleated to fit around the top which is a bowed shape. The seams are disguised with blue woven wool tape. The hem is trimmed with blue gimp, heavy blue wool fringe and gold, brick effect woven braid.