The Vermeil Room, sometimes called the Gold Room, was last refurbished in
1991; it serves as a display room and, for formal occasions, as a ladies
sitting room. The soft yellow of the paneled walls complements the
collection of vermeil, or gilded silver, bequeathed to the White House in
1956 by Mrs. Margaret Thompson Biddle.
The vermeil collection contains pieces from different services and
includes the work of English Regency silversmith Paul Storr (1771-1844),
French Empire silversmith Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763-1850), and
Philip Rundell of London, who crafted the vermeil wine cooler at the
right. The cooler has as its handles classical figures reaching for
grapes from an arbor.
The green silk draperies are of early 19th-century design. The carpet is
a Turkish Hereke of about 1860, chosen for its pale green background and
gold silk highlights. In the center of the room stands a circular
mahogany table made in the Empire style in the
19th century. Its tilt top is veneered in 12 wedge-shaped sections,
each inlaid with a brass star. Hanging above it is a cut-glass
chandelier with ten arms, which was made in England about 1785.
Portraits of
seven First Ladies are exhibited in the Vermeil Room.
Against the south wall is a New York sofa circa 1815 attributed to the
workshop of Duncan Phyfe. It has scrolled ends and a reeded frame.
Two pairs of American Empire card tables with lyre-form supports stand
against the east and west walls.