This work investigates the material culture and economic dispersal of the royal collection of Charles I following his execution in 1649. Arthur MacGregor and a team of expert contributors utilize the Commonwealth Sale inventories to reconstruct the physical environment of the Stuart court. By analyzing these primary documents, the authors provide a comprehensive assessment of the monarch's patronage, the artistic value of his acquisitions, and the administrative process of liquidating royal assets during the Interregnum.

Scholars recognize this volume as a definitive reference for understanding the scale and composition of the Stuart royal collection. The text is noted for its rigorous archival research and its ability to translate complex inventory data into a coherent narrative of seventeenth-century material history.