An early/mid-20th century novelty bedroom chair in the form of a circus drum, designed by Cecil Beaton, circa 1935, the back and seat upholstered in cream leather flanked by drum beater handrests, the red painted cylindrical base with applied string bands, height 88cm, width 49cm, depth 46cm. Note: this chair was originally designed as part of a circus themed bedroom for Ashcombe House in Wiltshire, where Beaton lived for seven years during the 1930s. A similar chair can be seen on the V&A Museum Collections Archive website, museum number 'W.54-1984'.