Holland & Holland was founded by Harris Holland (1806–96) in the year 1835.
At first the guns bore the inscription H.Holland, without an address, and it is probable that these were built in the trade to his design. It is not known when Harris started his own manufacturing but it is estimated to be in the 1850s. This start makes him very unusual among the London Best makers, as others such as Purdey, Boss, Lang and Lancaster had apprenticed with Joseph Manton, while others such as Beesley, Grant and Atkin apprenticed with Purdey or Boss.
In 1883 Holland and Holland entered the trials organized by the magazine The Field, and won all of the rifle categories. This set a new standard of excellence for the competition among English gunmakers. In 1885 patents were granted to Holland and Holland for their Paradox gun, a shotgun with rifling in the front two inches of the barrel.
In 1908, they patented the detachable lock feature with small lever, for sidelock shotguns. The last major development in the evolution of the sidelock side-by-side gun occurred in 1922, when the H&H assisted-opening mechanism was patented. This gun, the self-opening Royal side-by-side, has been hugely influential in gun-making throughout the world.
In the period after World War II, under the leadership of new owner and Managing Director Malcolm Lyell, the company made sorties to India, where guns from the famous collections of the princes and maharajahs were bought back, developing an important market for second-hand pieces. In 1989, all remaining shares in H&H were bought by the French cosmetics group Chanel. Since then, the factory building, in use since 1898, has been extensively renovated and equipped with modern technology. Guns such as the Royal Over & Under or side-by-side double-barreled shotguns were improved and reintroduced, and they are available in 12, 20 and 28 bore and .410 inch. A hand-built gun from H&H can cost around GB£60,000 for a shotgun and close to GB£100,000 for some rifles, with prices roughly doubling with luxury engraving, and there is a waiting period of 2–3 years between ordering and delivery.
In the 1990s, Holland and Holland started on a major program of expansion. The company has stores ("gunrooms") in New York City and Moscow. The company's London flagship store on Bruton Street has been completely renovated and expanded.
Portrait of Harris Holland.
Harris Holland was born in 1806 in London. Although accounts of his background are somewhat sketchy, it is believed that his father was an organ builder, while Harris had a tobacco wholesale business in London. Obviously he was successful, as he was often seen at various pigeon shoots at important London clubs, as well as leasing a grouse moor in Yorkshire.
Having no children of his own, he took on his nephew Henry Holland as an apprentice in 1861. In 1867 Henry became a partner and in 1876 the name changed to Holland & Holland. Although Henry was a full partner, Harris kept strict control and was the only one who could sign a cheque until he died in 1896.
This is an
installment of Visual Studies, a series that explores how images move through
and shape culture.
Lately the
American president has been spending quite a bit of time redecorating the Oval
Office. The results can only be called a gilded rococo hellscape. If our
leader’s appearance is a depiction of the country …
Is this us?
Since the
start of President Trump’s Oval Office decorating spree in February, there has
been a steady torrent of articles condemning his design choices. And to be
sure, the redesign has been … significant.
There is a
parade of golden objects that march across the mantel, relegating the
traditional Swedish ivy to a greenhouse. Gilded Rococo wall appliqués, nearly
identical to the ones at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, are stuck to the
fireplace and office walls with the same level of aesthetic consideration a
child gives her doll’s face before covering it in nail polish.
In what
appears to be a bid to tie the room together, gilded floral onlays form a chain
around the room’s cornice. Even the doorknobs are highly polished, so the
presidential seal upon them shines.
Regarding
the office’s artwork, Mr. Trump, a man with a more-is-more sensibility, chose
what decorators call a gallery hang. A dozen or so gold-framed presidential
portraits crawl up the walls of the Oval Office. Just outside his office
there’s even a copy of his mug shot printed on the front page of The New York
Post.
The most
unusual additions to the office are two gilded mirrors that hang on either side
of the fireplace. This is so quintessentially Mr. Trump that I’m surprised he
didn’t think of it earlier. When standing in front of one, your reflection
joins the pantheon of great leaders above you. It’s just like they say: In
America anyone can grow up to become president.
This design
choice is either incredibly innovative or deeply unsettling, depending on your
state of mind.
In 2017 the
journalist Peter York called Mr. Trump’s aesthetic “dictator chic,” likening
his New York penthouse to Muammar el-Qaddafi’s homes. Others have looked
further back in history for an analogue. Many concluded not only that Mr.
Trump’s style is the stuff of kings and despots but also that it’s French.
On one
level, they aren’t wrong. The decoration Mr. Trump has splattered across the
Oval Office is inspired by European Baroque and Rococo of the 1600s and 1700s,
when power was shown through ornate displays of grotesque abundance. Gold leaf
moldings and large mirrors filled Baroque palace walls from Versailles to the
Peterhof Palace. But in the early 1700s Rococo, an even gaudier style distinct
for its asymmetry, swirling tendrils and gilded seashells, was born. Often
criticized for being purely decorative and intellectually vacuous, it would
become a perfect visual metaphor for the European royal courts of the 18th
century: unserious people draped in gold baubles and ruffled pastels.
But Rococo’s
most enduring trait has been its embrace by the bourgeoisie. By replacing
marble and gold with stucco and gilded bronze, the ornamental splendor once
reserved for gods and kings was now available to merchants and a growing middle
class. Rococo was itself revolutionary, in part because it upset the
established hierarchy by making molded plaster look as good as solid gold. Four
hundred years on, its cheap extravagance is still simultaneously elitist and
democratic. Use it as a commoner and you can feel like a king. Use it as a king
and it might just get you guillotined.
Whatever Mr.
Trump is doing to the walls of the Oval Office is not French; it is deeply
American. Prerevolutionary America was awash in Rococo design. Even one of
America’s most famous revolutionaries, Paul Revere, a silversmith by trade, was
known for his Rococo home goods. After the Revolution, like a good patriot, he
pivoted to neo-Classicism, a heavy and serious style that is a suitable
metaphor for what America wished itself to be: a democracy for the people, not
for a king. When we talk about American design, we tend to prefer our
neo-Classical fantasy to our gilded one. It’s almost as if we are embarrassed
by how much we want to look like kings.
American
Rococo is the stuff of bubbles. It hits when the 1 percent is thriving, when
government leaders are overconfident and new technology is causing great
uncertainty. It celebrates conspicuous consumption and nods to the perceived
stability of the past.
The first
map of the fledgling United States, from 1784, featured a Rococo corsage of
swirling fronds, an American flag and cherubs, all of which would look right at
home stuffed in one of Mr. Trump’s office pediments. And Rococo has remained a
significant part of the American vernacular ever since. It became a favored
embellishment for American guns, stoves, radiators and, when the first cash
registers started emerging in 1879, well, of course, many of them were Rococo
chic, too.
By the time
Mr. Trump was born in June 1946, a Rococo revival was coming for postwar
America. Home design magazines were filled with advertisements for chiffon
curtains that draped like ruffled queens’ sleeves. Modern rooms were full of
18th-century reproduction furniture, bowlegged and ornately embellished.
Silverware sets were edged in swooping florets and seashells. In women’s
fashion, Christian Dior’s “new look” would bring back exaggerated female
silhouettes with small waists and full ruffled skirts, a shape last popular in
the 1800s.
But by 1960
the hard lines of midcentury modernism filled those same magazines. For the
rest of the 20th century Rococo was a bit player, fading in and out of fashion.
Not until the turn of the millennium did Americans go full Rococo all over
again.
In 1997,
after tremendous financial losses, Mr. Trump released the book “The Art of the
Comeback.” The cover featured a portrait of him pouting at the camera in front
of a flinty gold background, and its interior was stuffed with dropped names
and braggadocious renderings of his business exploits. That year his gilded
penthouse was a stand-in for a fictional billionaire’s in the film “The Devil’s
Advocate.” All this was meant to display that famous people do, in fact, like
him, that he was as important as he ever was and that, no matter the financial
losses, the name Trump was still synonymous with ostentatious wealth.
In 1998, The
New York Times summarized the latest trends in fashion. Among them: “ruffles,
fringe and asymmetrical hems,” “Ivanka Trump” and “religion (celebrity
worship).” When Mr. Trump stormed back, Rococo did, too.
As it turns
out, Rococo was the perfect visual accompaniment for a moment that lasted for
the next two decades. Over the next few years, new technology would reshape the
middle class and a tiny handful of Americans would become very, very rich. Some
of those rich Americans became TV stars. There were shows documenting the lives
of millionaires — “The Simple Life” (2003), “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”
(2007) — and shows where Americans tried to become millionaires — “Who Wants to
Be a Millionaire” (1999), “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” (2000). And
of course there was a show that was both: “The Apprentice” (2004). On reality
TV we witness baroque story lines and frivolous drama, the collision of high
society and low art and, of course, performative wealth’s obvious facade.
That is,
until the stock market crash of 2008 had a sobering effect, and the backlash to
these millionaires’ royal extravagance was sharp, for a time.
Right before
the 2016 election, Fran Lebowitz called Mr. Trump “a poor person’s idea of a
rich person.” On the campaign trail, he didn’t look or sound like the rest of
the new American billionaires. He wasn’t polished or smooth. His appearance was
shoddy, strange, lacking all polish. And all that gold in his house? Well, yes,
it looked fake. It was Rococo. He was a normal guy self-consciously performing
wealth, something Americans had been doing for the previous 20 years. Not to
mention the past 240.
Last year,
trend forecasters predicted Rococo’s return. There had been hints it was coming
for years. The buzzy shoe in 2021 was a jelly mule reminiscent of the shoe
Marie Antoinette is said to have lost on the way to the guillotine. In 2022,
when the neo-Rococo artist Flora Yukhnovich’s painting sold at auction for over
$3 million, critics trumpeted the return of Rococo art. Rococo was on fashion
runways in 2023 and 2024 and was so prominent on Pinterest that, by 2025,
Target got in on the action, posting a Rococo trend board pointing shoppers to
gilded mirrors and pastel cherubs. The pattern running behind the products was
a light gray damask almost identical to the wallpaper that hangs in Mr. Trump’s
Oval Office.
In November
a country enamored (again) with populist wealth elected (again) a Rococo
president. In Mr. Trump’s America, everything is gold. Our new $175 billion
missile defense shield? It’s a Golden Dome, of course. And from the looks of
the 3-D renderings it will turn the whole country into a shimmering gilded
cheese platter. Want to come to America on the EB-5 immigrant investor visa?
Surely you mean Mr. Trump’s gold card. Unlike the last version, it costs $5
million, but it does allow you to skip paying U.S. taxes on your overseas
income.
Donald Trump
holds a laminated card, emblazoned with his face, his signature, a bald eagle,
the statue of liberty and the words "THE TRUMP CARD," "5M"
and "5,000,000."
So, is this
us?
There is
something very American about a man who wants to be both king and
revolutionary. And there’s something very American about the lust for gold. We
shouldn’t forget that large swaths of this nation were developed and destroyed
because of it. And we shouldn’t forget that our wealth has often been used not
for communal betterment but to enrich the self.
This spring
Mr. Trump invited the Fox News host Laura Ingraham into the Oval Office to show
off his redecorating skills. He pointed to the Rococo décor. “People have tried
to come up with a gold paint that would look like gold, and they have never
been able to do it,” he told her. “That’s why it’s gold.”
But those of
us watching at home know how time always reveals that Rococo is just gilded
plaster. Unfortunately for America, we like it that way.
Napoleon
enthusiast sells extensive set of memorabilia to pay debts
Pierre-Jean
Chalençon, the antiques dealer who refers to himself as the French emperor’s
‘press officer’, is parting with key items from his large collection
Napoleon’s
throne, camp bed, bicorne and divorce paper portfolio are among items to be
sold by a fervent admirer of the French emperor, who is offloading part of his
extensive collection.
Pierre-Jean
Chalençon, 54, a flamboyant antiques dealer who has described himself as
“Napoleon’s press officer”, is auctioning 110 of the objects he has assembled
over the years in memory of his idol. They have an overall estimated value of
about €6 million.
Sotheby’s,
which is holding the sale in June, said Chalençon had one of “the most
significant Napoleonic collections in private hands”. He is thought to have
about 1,000 items.
Chalençon’s
lawyer said his client hoped that the sale would help to pay off debts, which
are said to be €9.4 million. The dealer, a television celebrity in France, is
apparently in financial difficulty after buying a mansion in Paris for €6
million and filling it with Napoleonic memorabilia.
He
previously tried to generate revenue by renting out the 506 sq m Vivienne
palace for marriages, seminars and other events, but reportedly fell behind on
repayments on a €10 million loan.
Now he is
selling such objects as the bicorne worn by Napoleon at the Battle of
Aspern-Essling in 1809. It is estimated to fetch between €500,000 and €800,000.
Also for sale is the folding, portable “campaign bed” made for Bonaparte during
his military expansion. It is valued at between €40,000 and €60,000.
The auction
charts Napoleon’s rise and fall. There is a portrait of him at the height of
his glory having himself crowned emperor in 1804. The work, by the studio of
Baron Gérard, the French neoclassicist painter, is valued at €300,000.
There is
also a throne, valued at €400,000, made for Napoleon to sit on in Turin’s
Stupinigi palace when he crossed Italy in 1805. A selection of the clothes he
wore as emperor, valued at up to €80,000, are also to be sold, along with a
sleeve removed from one of his coats by his tailor after a servant spilt sauce
on it. The sleeve, which dates from his days as first consul before he became
emperor, is expected to fetch between €20,000 and €30,000.
Napoleon’s
gold and ebony seal, which he mislaid at Waterloo, is for sale for up to
€250,000. So too is the codicil to his will, which he wrote in exile on Saint
Helena after his defeat by Lord Wellington. It is estimated at between €300,000
and €500,000.
In love as
in war, Napoleon experienced diverse fortunes. The auction includes the 1804
certificate produced after his religious marriage to Joséphine de Beauharnais —
eight years after their civil wedding. There is also a red portfolio said to
have contained papers relating to his divorce in 1809, prompted by the absence
of a male heir.
Chalençon,
once the star of Affaire Conclue, a popular television antiques show, is also
selling his mansion, although not in the Sotheby’s auction. He is said to have
put it on the market for €12 million, but estate agents described the price as
inflated.
The dealer
was sacked by France 2, the state broadcaster, in 2020, after attending the
birthday party of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the late founder of the populist right
National Rally, who had multiple convictions for incitement to racial hatred.
Menacé
d’une mise aux enchères, le palais Vivienne de Pierre-Jean Chalençon aurait un
repreneur
Menacé d’une
mise aux enchères judiciaire pour rembourser une dette de plus de 10 millions
d’euros, l’hôtel particulier de Pierre-Jean Chalençon devrait finalement être
vendu directement par son propriétaire. Une promesse de vente aurait été
signée, évitant ainsi la procédure d’adjudication.
Le palais
Vivienne, hôtel particulier appartenant au collectionneur Pierre-Jean Chalençon
et situé dans le IIe arrondissement de Paris, avait été mis aux enchères par la
justice pour régler les dettes de son propriétaire.
Mais ce
dernier ayant fait appel, la vente qui devait avoir lieu en mars, avait été
reportée au dernier moment. Finalement, le bien va pouvoir échapper à une mise
aux enchères judiciaire puisqu’une promesse de vente vient d’être conclue, a
rapporté actu Parisle mardi 20 mai
2025.
Plus de 10
millions d’euros de dettes
« Un
refinancement et une vente sont en cours », a déclaré Paul Buisson, l’avocat de
Pierre-Jean Chalençon, sans toutefois en dévoiler le montant. Ce compromis
évite ainsi sa mise à prix de 8 millions d’euros, censé couvrir de la dette de
10,5 millions d’euros contractée auprès de la banque Swiss Life, selon nos
confrères.
Comme
l’expliquait l’avocat au Parisien , le but était de trouver un repreneur avant
le 19 juin, date de l’audience en appel au tribunal de Paris. C’est désormais
chose faîte.
Acquis il y
a 10 ans par le collectionneur pour 6 millions d’euros, l’hôtel particulier
accueillait divers événements privés. Cette demeure du XVIIIe siècle avait
notamment fait parler d’elle durant la pandémie de Covid-19 pour des réceptions
clandestines qui y ont été organisées. L’ancien animateur de l’émission «
Affaire Conclue » sur France 2 avait notamment fini en garde à vue, rappelle Le
Point .
Jean-Pierre
Chalençon dit Pierre-Jean Chalençon, né le 23 juin 1970 à Rueil-Malmaison, est
un entrepreneur français. Connu pour sa collection d'objets napoléoniens, il a
participé à des émissions de divertissements, et s'affiche en soutien de
l'extrême droite, autant au niveau national qu'international.
Situation
personnelle
Né à
Rueil-Malmaison, Pierre-Jean Chalençon passe une partie de son adolescence à
Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Vers l'âge
de « 16 ou 17 ans », il fait la rencontre du chanteur Charles Trénet, alors âgé
de 73 ans, et les deux hommes vivent un « coup de foudre ». Cette liaison, qui
n'était pas du goût de l'héritier désigné du chanteur (Georges El Assidi),
donnera lieu en 2005 à une biographie illustrée de Charles Trenet, mort en
2001, dans laquelle Pierre-Jean Chalençon s'y décrit comme son « confident » et
« ami intime » pendant les dernières années de sa vie. Ces affirmations ont été
contestées par Georges El Assidi.
Pierre-Jean
Chalençon se passionne ensuite pour Napoléon : il dirige de 2006 à 2019 le
cabinet d'expertise Chalençon Empire, spécialisé dans le conseil, le courtage,
l'achat, la vente et le négoce d'objets de collection sur la période
napoléonienne. Collectionneur d'objets liés à Napoléon Ier[5], il estime en
2014 que sa collection atteint 2 000 à 3 000 pièces.
Il fait son
coming out en tant qu'homosexuel en 2018.
En 2021, il
cède une partie de sa collection pour rembourser des dettes.
Il est le
frère d'Isabelle Chalençon, chroniqueuse mode dans l'émission de France 2
Télématin jusqu'en février 2019.
Rattrapé par
ses frasques et ses dettes, Pierre-Jean Chalençon est contraint de vendre sa
collection d'objets napoléoniens. Sotheby's annonce la vente aux enchères de
150 lots le 25 juin 2025.
Participation
à des émissions de télévision
Durant la
saison 2014–2015, Pierre-Jean Chalençon intervient en tant qu'expert dans
l'émission Vos objets ont une histoire, sur France 2, présentée par Charlotte
de Turckheim.
Entre août
2017 et juin 2020, il est l'un des acheteurs réguliers de l'émission Affaire
conclue.
Polémiques
et prises de position politique
Anniversaire
de Jean-Marie Le Pen et exclusion de la télévision
Pierre-Jean
Chalençon faisait partie du groupe d'amis invités par Jean-Marie Le Pen pour
des déjeuners dans sa maison de Rueil-Malmaison. S'y croisaient notamment Bruno
Gollnisch, Marie d'Herbais (ex-compagne de Frédéric Chatillon et membre de
l'association Civitas), Éric Hamers (diamantaire et animateur sur Radio
Courtoisie), Eric Zemmour et Alexandre Simonnot (ancien secrétaire
départemental du Front national) .
Le 24 juin
2020, il est présent à la fête d'anniversaire organisée pour les 92 ans de
l'ancien président et cofondateur du Front national, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Il pose
notamment en compagnie du pianiste Stéphane Blet et de l'humoriste Dieudonné,
tous deux déjà condamnés pour « incitation à la haine raciale ». Devant
l'ampleur prise par le scandale, il décide, « en accord avec la production
d’Affaire conclue », de quitter le programme de France 2. Après avoir affirmé
quitter le programme d'un commun accord avec la chaîne, il reconnaît son
mensonge d'en avoir été exclu.
Élection
présidentielle de 2022
Il compte
parmi les personnalités présentes au premier meeting de campagne d'Éric
Zemmour, pour le parti d'extrême droite Reconquête. Il vote pour ce dernier au
premier tour à l'élection présidentielle de 2022.
Soutien à
Donald Trump
Présent à la
seconde investiture de Donald Trump comme président des États-Unis, en
compagnie de la délégation d'extrême-droite comptant Marion Maréchal, ou encore
Éric Zemmour, il déclare « Trump va nettoyer ce monde de cette folie
gauchiste…. ».
Affaires
judiciaires
Cette section est liée à une
affaire judiciaire en cours (juin 2024).
Le texte
peut changer fréquemment, n'est peut-être pas à jour et peut manquer de recul.
N'hésitez pas à participer à l'écriture de synthèse de manière neutre et
objective, en citant vos sources. N'oubliez pas que, dans nombre de systèmes
judiciaires, toute personne physique ou morale est présumée innocente tant que
sa culpabilité n’a pas été légalement établie.
Dîners
clandestins (2021)
En mars et
avril 2021, durant la pandémie de Covid-19, après la diffusion dans Le 1945 sur
M6 d'un reportage sur des dîners clandestins se tenant dans des lieux privés à
Paris[19], le site Arrêt sur images révèle l'existence d'un espace de
restauration privatisable, le Leroy's Business Club, géré par le chef
Christophe Leroy situé près de l'avenue George-V, ainsi que l'organisation de
dîners privés au palais Vivienne, propriété de Pierre-Jean Chalençon.
Le 14 mars,
le chef cuisinier publie sur Instagram une photographie en compagnie de
Chalençon, qui invite à participer « à un moment d'exception au palais Vivienne
le 1er avril pour un dîner-soirée, à partir de 17 h 45 autour d'un menu caviar
et champagne »[20]. Le port du masque y est interdit. Interrogé en caméra
cachée durant le reportage, il indique avoir « dîné cette semaine dans deux ou
trois restaurants clandestins, avec un certain nombre de ministres », avant que
son avocat déclare à l'Agence France-Presse qu'il faisait seulement de «
l'humour ».
Interrogée
par Anaïs Condomines, journaliste de la rubrique CheckNews de Libération, la
police judiciaire indique avoir été saisie par le procureur de la République de
Paris pour mise en danger de la vie d’autrui et travail dissimulé.
Le 9 avril
2021, dans le cadre de cette affaire, Pierre-Jean Chalençon et Christophe Leroy
sont placés en garde à vue au siège de la police judiciaire parisienne[23].
Quelques jours plus tard, l'avocat de Pierre-Jean Chalençon est lui-même mis en
examen pour escroquerie sur personne vulnérable.
Saisie-vente
du palais Vivienne (depuis 2023)
Depuis 2015,
Pierre-Jean Chalençon est gérant de la société civile immobilière du palais
Vivienne. Il a acquis pour la somme de 4,5 millions d'euros un appartement de
506,41 m2 qu'il a baptisé « palais Vivienne », situé 36 rue Vivienne dans la
partie latérale ouest de l'hôtel de Montmorency-Luxembourg. Pierre-Jean
Chalençon possède le premier étage de cet immeuble, le reste étant occupé par
des tiers.
Saisi par la
justice le 3 octobre 2023 face à son incapacité à rembourser un emprunt de 10
millions d'euros contracté auprès de Swiss Life, le bien est mis aux enchères le 23 mai 2024 par le Tribunal judiciaire de Paris. La vente forcée est
finalement reportée au 21 novembre 2024, à la suite d'un recours déposé par
Pierre-Jean Chalençon qualifié de dilatoire par l'avocate du créancier[.
En juin
2024, le palais Vivienne change de nom et rouvre ses portes après travaux sous
l'enseigne Morning Panoramas. Le lieu est désormais exploité par la société
Morning, entreprise spécialisée dans l'événementiel et la mise à disposition de
bureaux clés en main.
Après
plusieurs reports, le palais Vivienne est à nouveau mis aux enchères par la
justice le 13 mars 2025, aucune solution n'ayant été trouvée pour honorer la
créance de Swiss Life, malgré les affirmations mensongères de Pierre-Jean
Chalençon.
La vente aux
enchères est une fois encore reportée au 19 juin 2025, à la suite d'un vice de
procédure.
Plainte pour
injures racistes (2024)
Le 23 juin
2024, une plainte est déposée contre Pierre-Jean Chalençon pour injure raciste,
par une journaliste française d'origine marocaine au commissariat de police du
7e arrondissement de Paris. La veille, lors d'un dîner rue de Lille, au sujet
de l’évocation de la condamnation pour antisémitisme[36] de Jean-Marie Le Pen,
il aurait insulté cette journaliste, « Je t'encule ! Les Arabes seront toujours
des Arabes, rentre chez toi sale poufiasse » et « Ta gueule sale bougnoule,
rentre chez toi ! »[37], après l'avoir plaquée au sol, lui arrachant son
téléphone des mains. À la suite de ce dépôt de plainte, le parquet de Paris
annonce l'ouverture d'une enquête le 24 juin.
President
Donald Trump has transformed the traditionally minimalist Oval Office into a
setting that reflects his personal brand—ornate, lavish and filled with gold
flourishes. From the fireplace mantle to the side tables, the iconic space has
taken on a distinctly Trumpian look, echoing the interiors of his signature
Trump Tower in New York and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Whereas
former President Joe Biden opted to spread his fewer public events around the
White House grounds — from the East Room to the Rose Garden to the traditional
Oval Office setting — President Trump has been using the "Oval" as
the backdrop for media availabilities and working meetings at least several
times a week and sometimes hosting multiple events there a day.
And while it
is not uncommon for a new president to redecorate the Oval, photos taken by the
press during those events — and compared to images from prior administrations —
suggest Trump has made some of the most extensive changes to the room's
appearance in modern presidential history, adding gold vermeil figurines to the
mantle, gold medallions affixed to the fireplace, gilded Rococo mirrors over
the doors and gold eagles perched on side tables.
Newsweek
reached out the White House with questions about how the president chose the
new decor, but did not immediately receive a response.
Above the
doorways, delicate gold cherubs peer down, a touch not seen in previous White
House administrations. Gilded Rococo mirrors hang over the doors, reflecting
the gold eagles perched on side tables, further reinforcing the theme.
Even the
accessories along the Resolute Desk reflect Trump's fondness for the golden
motif, with a gold-plated replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy sitting aside
framed photos of Trump and his family, and what appears to be a golden urn
supported by two cherub-like figures, all positioned prominently behind the
famous presidential desk.
Oval Office
Trump
A
gold-plated replica of the FIFA World Cup Trophy sits on a side table in the
Oval Office, accompanied by a golden urn, framed photos, and other decorative
items. Getty Images
However,
this is not just a decorative urn. White House historian Donald Meriam told
Newsweek that it is part of a larger set of fruit baskets from President James
Monroe's gilt service, acquired from France in 1817. Their relocation to the
Oval Office marks a notable departure from their traditional placement during
White House tours.
"It's
surprising that Trump has moved the fruit baskets to the Oval Office, as they
are typically displayed in the State Dining Room during White House
tours," Meriam said.
A Stark
Contrast With Previous Terms
One of the
latest photos from Joe Biden's presidency, showing the president speaking with
soon-to-be-sworn-in President Trump on November 13, 2024, presents a stark
visual contrast.
The gold
figurines and mirrors are not yet present The fireplace mantel held only a
green plant, and the portraits on the walls were generously spaced out for a
more traditional aesthetic.
Oval Office
Trump
A look at a
photo from Trump's first term in the White House also reveals a less
extravagant version of the space. While some gold elements can be seen in
images from as late as September 2020, they were far less dominant. The
fireplace mantle featured simple greenery, and the side tables had minimal
ornamentation. A model of a redesigned Air Force One also sat prominently on
the coffee table at that time.
Every piece
added to the room under Trump's direction appears to have been carefully chosen
to reflect his personal brand. The office now features an expanded gallery of
portraits of past American luminaries, dominated by a large painting of former
President Ronald Reagan, a figure Trump has long admired.
Above the
fireplace, a Charles Willson Peale portrait of George Washington has replaced
the smaller version that once hung there. The walls are now crowded with
closely arranged, gold-framed paintings of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin
and Andrew Jackson, leaving little empty space.
Trump has
also returned a bronze bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval, a sculpture with
a complicated past among the artifacts on display in the office. Former
President Obama created a mini-firestorm in his first year in office when he
was accused of refusing to display the Churchill bust, which Boris Johnson —
then the mayor of London — called at the time "a symbol of the part-Kenyan
president's ancestral dislike of the British empire."
In 2012, the
White House refuted that as an "urban legend," and Obama himself
later clarified that he had simply moved the bust to another part of the White
House near his private office.
"There
are only so many tables where you can put busts otherwise it starts to looks a
little cluttered," Obama said in 2016.
The
Churchill bust was returned to the Oval by Trump in his first term, then
removed again by Biden. Trump has since reinstated it along the wall next to
the fireplace.
On the
opposite side remains a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., which is steeped in its
own controversy. In the early days of Trump's first term, it was incorrectly
reported that he had removed the MLK sculpture from the Oval, creating one of
the first uproars of his brand-new administration.
The reporter
for TIME magazine then acknowledged he was wrong and had simply failed to see
it, though the erroneous report was said to have irked the president for weeks.
The Mitford
sisters, known for their 20th-century aristocratic glamour and political
scandal, were not among England’s most gem-laden women. But jewelry did play a
role in their outsize public profiles.
“Diana the
fascist, Jessica the communist, Unity the Hitler-lover, Nancy the novelist,
Deborah the duchess and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisseur” is how Ben
Macintyre, a writer for The Times of London, once described the six women.
Now they are
the subjects of “Outrageous,” a six-part series scheduled to debut June 18 on
BritBox in the United States and Canada and June 19 on U and U&Drama in
Britain. The series is set in the 1930s, the era in which they became famous —
and infamous — and arrives on the heels of the discovery of a diary kept by
Unity, who was obsessed with Hitler and, by her own account, was his lover.
Excerpts were published this year by The Daily Mail.
A childish
prank involving Unity and Jessica was most likely one of the sisters’ earliest
jewelry episodes. “A diamond ring was used to etch both the image of a hammer
and sickle and swastika on a window in their childhood home,” Sarah Williams,
the writer of “Outrageous,” said in a recent video interview. “They had such a
young bond as kids, but they were both rebels, and that bond of rebellion was
stronger than their political beliefs. They were absolute extremes.”
The sisters
— there also was one brother, Thomas, who was killed in World War II — were the
children of David Freeman-Mitford, the second Baron Redesdale, and his wife,
Sydney Bowles. While the family was not particularly wealthy, the sisters were
schooled at home and then entered society.
“As part of
our research, we specifically collected images of jewelry pieces worn by the
Mitford girls,” Claire Collins, the costume designer for “Outrageous,” said by
email, “and although we couldn’t replicate certain pieces, we were able to use
them as a guide.”
She added:
“For example, we decided to incorporate more bohemian pieces for Nancy as we
were keen to express her ties with the creative types of the time, such as the
Bloomsbury group.”
Ms. Williams
said she found dozens of references to jewelry in her research, which included
Jessica’s 1960 memoir, “Hons and Rebels,” and “The Mitford Girls” by Mary S.
Lovell, the 2001 biography that was the basis for “Outrageous.”
Diana, for
example, wore a tiara of diamonds and rubies at her 1929 wedding to Bryan
Guinness, heir to the brewery fortune. She reportedly returned the tiara to him
when they divorced four years later, but kept several other pieces. (Later she
married Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British fascist movement.)
“The Mitford
sisters came from impeccably aristocratic stock, but growing up, money was
tight,” Ms. Williams said. “Nevertheless, I think jewelry was highly
significant in their lives, as it often came in the form of gifts from the men
they loved, but it could also be exchanged for hard cash and might help them
out of a tight spot.”
That idea
plays out in “Outrageous,” in a sequence portraying Nancy as a celebrated but
not always financially secure novelist.
“Nancy is
forced to sell all her jewelry to pay her rent, but we retained one small
pinkie ring that was our nod to her connection with her family,” Ms. Collins
wrote. “It’s small and unnoticeable to most, but it grounds her character and
gives her heart.”
One anecdote
from “The Mitford Girls” describes Nancy seeing Pamela’s 17th-century enamel
and gold wedding ring — from a suitor who ended the engagement shortly before
the ceremony — and commenting that it looked like “a chicken’s mess.” The
scenario was fictionalized in Nancy’s novel “The Pursuit of Love,” and the real
ring was said to be given to Unity, who reportedly regifted it to Hitler.
Of the
sisters, the youngest, Deborah, also known as Debo, probably had the most
jewelry. She married Andrew Cavendish, who was later the 11th Duke of
Devonshire, and eventually became the chatelaine of the stately home,
Chatsworth, in Derbyshire.
Much of her
personal jewelry — including a heart-shape brooch pavéd with brilliant-cut
diamonds and a curb link chain bracelet with white sapphires forming the
letters to spell Teapot Row, the name of one of the duke’s racehorses — along
with paintings, furniture and household goods were auctioned in 2016 by
Sotheby’s.
The auction
also listed several brooches, such as a citrine, onyx and diamond caterpillar,
that were gifts from her husband.
“It was
rumored that every time he had a fling, he would feel guilty and would buy her
an insect or animal brooch,” said Adrian Dickens, a jeweler in Australia and a
recognized expert on the Mitfords. “There is one photo of the duchess wearing
30 to 40 of them.”
The
Devonshire jewels belonged to the family, although Deborah wore them as
duchess. “She had nine major pieces,” Mr. Dickens said, “including the
Devonshire parure, a collection of seven matching items — bandeau, bracelet,
coronet, diadem, necklace, stomacher and comb — commissioned by the sixth Duke
of Devonshire for his nephew’s wife to wear to Czar Alexander II’s coronation
in 1856.”
The
collection also included two diamond tiaras: the Devonshire tiara, sometimes
referred to as the Palmette tiara, with 1,881 diamonds in palm leaf and lotus
motifs, which, like many tiaras, could be divided into several brooches; and
the honeysuckle tiara, which could be dismantled into as many as seven
brooches, Mr. Dickens said.
“Deborah
wore the Devonshire parure but not often because it must have been very heavy
and uncomfortable,” he said. “A portrait of her in front of her Lucian Freud
portrait does show at least three of the pieces being worn quite casually.”
Her jewelry
could be seen as the final, glamorous chapter in the saga of the Mitford
sisters.
“The family
was torn apart by politics, but the sisterhood remained intact,” Ms. Williams
said. “They had a yearning for diamonds and fine jewelry as the era of
aristocracy was ending. There was a lot of good breeding, but not much cash.”
A correction
was made on May 22, 2025: Because of an editing error, an earlier version of
this article misstated the location of Chatsworth. The stately home is in
Derbyshire, not Devonshire.
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