Music Room
With Neoclassical decorative painting, this room gets its name from the French diatonic harp, made of carved and japanned wood, and a miniature chamber ensemble formed of six figures playing musical instruments. Prominent among the furniture is a small side table of English influence, made of pau-santo, with curved wooden legs that demonstrate great technical refinement. Also of British inspiration (Sheraton) are the couch and four chairs made of wood from crates (making use of the packaging in which sugar arrived from Brazil), with painted crest rails. The elegant pair of wall-fixed pier tables in gilded wood, like the two couches facing them, are descendants of the French Louis XVI-style. Decorating the walls are two large gouaches painted in 1789 by Alexandre-Jean Noël during his second visit to Portugal, depicting, respectively, a view of Rocha do Conde de Óbidos and the Bulwark of Alcântara in the moonlight. Placed on an easel is a small painting by Vieira Portuense depicting the Oath of Viriathus, a preparatory study for a larger painting given by the artist to King João VI and taken with the court to Brazil, where it is believed to have been lost.