I was thinking of Meryvn Peake's Gormenghast books, and The Hall Of Bright Carvings.
A hall of brightly decorated carvings each traditionally given at an annual festival by the local populace to the ruler of Gormenghast...and then stored in a vast dusty hall and forgotten until next year...
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Art: - "Battle of Lights, Coney Island", 1913-14, Joseph Stella
