AN ITALIAN CARVED WHITE CARRARA MARBLE ATHÉNIENNE LATE 18TH CENTURY

Possibly acquired in Rome by William, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858);

Compton Place, Eastbourne, East Sussex, by 1892;

Removed to Chatsworth House, Derbyshire by Andrew, 11th Duke of Devonshire circa 1954;

Sold Sotheby's, Chatsworth: The Attic Sale, 5-7 October 2010, lot 253, where acquired by the present owner.

Compton Place Inventory, 1892, p.80 standing in the Gallery Statuary marble tripod on marble base;

Photographed in the late 19th century or early 20th century at Compton Place standing in the Gallery bay window.

This splendid carved athénienne, using fine white Carrara marble and Africano for the base, is after an existing example in the Galleria dei Candelabri in the Museo Pio Clementino at the Vatican.

In response to the growing popularity of the restoration and sale of classical antiquities to European aristocrats on their Grand Tour during the late 18th/early 19th century, fine replicas of some of the most interesting Antique works of art in the Papal collections were made by sculptors such as Piranesi and Cavaceppi, who were also in charge of restoring some of these. The demand for classical antiquities was a thriving trade due in part to entrepreneurs such as Thomas Jenkins and Gavin Hamilton whose profitable excavations of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli met the increasing demand of their British aristocratic clientele.

This athénienne most probably entered the Devonshire Collections through the voracious collecting of William, the 6th Duke, who visited Rome in 1819, where “the love of marble possesses one like a new sense”, he wrote (Duchess of Devonshire, Chatsworth: The House, 2002, p.126).

Fascinated by, and knowledgeable, of stones, he was the greatest collector of Italian sculpture of its time in England and acquired works by the best Neoclassical sculptors then working in Rome – Canova, Bartolini, Rinaldi, Thorvaldsen, Gibson, Albacini, etc. For these, he built in Chatsworth a whole new Sculpture Gallery to hold his many purchases.

The original position of this fine athénienne in the Devonshire Collection is unknown. Although the 6th Duke dedicated much of his energy to make Chatsworth House the great palace it is today, he also paid attention to his several other houses, such as Chiswick, Devonshire House and Lismore Castle.

Interestingly, whilst the athénienne appears in the Compton Inventory of 1892, it does not appear in the inventory taken two years earlier. Similarly, whilst it appears in the photograph illustrated here taken in 1900, there is a photograph of the room approximately ten years earlier which shows a table standing in the bay at the end of gallery. Given that the furniture in Chiswick was largely being removed circa 1890, it might have been thought that originated there and was sent to Compton Place. However, the Chiswick Inventories taken in 1811, 1863 and 1869 make no mention of it. The 6th Duke’s Handbook of Chatsworth and Hardwick published in 1845 reveals a collection in constant flux, with pieces travelling amongst his various houses alongside new works arriving at bewildering rate, a reality that continued through generations in the oustanding Devonshire Collection.

Compton Place, Eastbourne, East Sussex

In 1726, Spencer Compton, considered as Britain’s second prime minister, commissioned the celebrated architect Colen Campbell to rebuilt the manor known so far as Bourne Place. Remodelled in the Palladian style, the house was completed by William Kent, after Campbell’s death.

The house was acquired by the Devonshire family by marriage in 1763 when Lady Elizabeth Compton married Lord George Cavendish and in 1858 it was added to the estates of the 7th Duke, William Cavendish.

Chatsworth, Derbyshire, England

Since it was bought for only £600 in 1549 by Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick, Chatsworth became the residence of the Devonshire family, one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families. Overlooking the river and surrounded by rocky hills and luxurious nature, the stately residence houses one of the most important collections in England of paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures, books and contemporary art.