The wealth of carved detail on this neoclassical fireplace reflects the genius of Robert Adam. Adam built Lansdowne House, Berkley Square, for the Marquess of Bute. The distinguished sculptor Thomas Carter (d.1795), regarded as ‘the first statuary of the kingdom’, produced the original chimneypiece for the anteroom, which was designed by Adam. Financial extravagance eventually forced Bute to sell the half-finished house to Lord Shelburne, the then Prime Minister. In 1782, Shelburne and Benjamin Franklin drew up the treaty that led to the independence of the United States in the Round Room at Lansdowne House.