ANTIQUES dealer Ivor Hughes was one of the guests at Harewood House recently when a special exhibition focusing on the work of Otley cabinetmaker and craftsman Thomas Chippendale was launched.

Here he lists some of the highlights of Chippendale 2000 - a celebration of his life and work.

AS antiques columnist for Wharfedale Newspapers, I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of an invitation to attend an 18th century breakfast reception at which the Earl of Harewood opened Chippendale 2000 - a celebration of Chippendale's life and work.

Harewood House is a fitting location for this exhibition of world importance, not merely through its proximity to Otley, but also because furnishing it was Chippendale's largest commission.

And Earl Harewood, through the Harewood House Trust, is the ideal host. His ancestor, Edwin Lascelles, later Lord Harewood, commissioned Chippendale to furnish his new home.

Guest speaker was one of Britain's foremost cabinetmakers and designers, David (Viscount) Linley, second cousin to today's Earl and son of HRH Princess Margaret.

David Linley opened his first workshop in 1982. His furniture company was founded in 1985 and now has select outlets in London, the US, Toronto, Brussels, Puerto Rico and Dublin.

These, plus his online facility at www.davidlinley.com, are a far cry from the schoolboy who gave his grandmother a beautiful cigar box he had made while studying for 'O' level woodwork - although the Queen Mother's favourite brand of cigar remains unreported.

David Linley remarked that he was genuinely humbled in the presence of the star exhibit of Chippendale 2000 - the State Bed.

He spoke of how he and his fellow cabinetmakers in England today could only aspire to the quality of design and construction attained by Chippendale more than 200 years ago.

There are 68 numbered exhibits in Chippendale 2000, including multiple items such as a set of 18 chairs, exhibit 35 and at £10 each the most expensive chairs supplied to Harewood.

And not all of Chippendale's work at Harewood is listed in the smaller accompanying brochure - he would have had a hand in much of the interior design details and soft furnishings.

The exhibition is brought to life by an introductory video, audio-visual tours and, on certain days, a series of sketches acted in period costume and portraying the roles of estate manager Samuel Popplewell and his son, plus craftsmen and servants of the time.

The finishing touch to an excellent and informative morning was an 18th century breakfast, prepared by Harewood's catering manager Michael Gill, owner of Brasserie 44 and the Michelin starred Pool Court at 42, both in The Calls, Leeds.

l Chippendale 2000, running to 29 October, is one of many first rate exhibitions and displays at Harewood this year.

Further information on all of them is available on (0113) 2181010.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.