First Class Lounge on the 'Aquitania' (1914)

Interior of the passenger liner 'Aquitania' (1914) showing the First Class Lounge, also called the Palladian Lounge, on the Promenade Deck (A Deck); a view looking aft.

The Baroque-style interior decoration was carried out by Lenygon & Co Ltd, London. The spandrels on each side of the arches are copies after Jean Baptiste Van Loo’s ‘Four Elements’. Under the coffered vault is a reproduction of one of the Mortlake tapestries depicting the 1672 Battle of Solebay commissioned by Charles II (the original is at Hampton Court). The semi-circular recess was used for concerts and dramatic performances; a grand piano is visible on the stage. The lunettes above the cornice by the work of the celebrated 17th-century metalworker Jean Tijou. The allegorical painting on the ceiling is said to be an original 18th-century Dutch picture and the carpet is a Savonnerie reproduction.