Note: The marble tops are recent replacements. The terms have been re-gilded at some stage in the 20th century.

William Kent designed various types of terms for his clients, using specific decorative features that were not repeated elsewhere. For example, the terms designed by Kent for Robert Walpole for Houghton Hall, Norfolk, feature Corinthian capitals, while the terms for William Stanhope for Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire, feature winged heads with Doric capitals hung with oak festoons. The terms supplied to Richard Boyle for Chiswick House, Middlesex, are similar to the Elvaston design, but omit the wings from the heads.

Our terms, with Doric capitals, relate to two pairs of terms in the Royal Collection supplied by Benjamin Goodison. The Doric capitals are slightly different, however, and they rest on slightly different spreading feet.

The original commission for these terms has not yet come to light. They have an interesting later history, having belonged to the celebrated tennis player and official James Van Alen, a direct descendant of the Astors and the Vanderbilts, two of the wealthiest families in America. The terms did not feature in the sale of contents of Van Alen’s homes held by Sotheby’s in 2002, but a photograph published in their catalogue shows one of the pair in the drawing room in Van Alen’s Rhode Island house, Avalon.