After the Antique Italian, 19th Century

Mary Caroline Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848-1912), Carbisdale Castle, Scottish Highlands, circa 1906;
Colonel Theodore Salvesen (1863-1942), Carbisdale Castle, Scottish Highlands, 1933;
by family descent to Captain Harold Keith Salvesen (1897-1970), Carbisdale Castle, Scottish Highlands, 1942;
gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, 1945

Apollo: Overall the condition of the bust is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is some minor veining to the marble, including to Apollo's face. There are also some small naturally occurring inclusions. There are a few small chips to the edges of the bust and some scuff marks. The wood plinth is in good condition with minor chips to the edges. Some joints are slightly visible, and there is minor splitting, consistent with the material. Diana: Overall the condition of the marble is good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are naturally occurring inclusions to the marble, particularly to the chest and face. There is some minor veining to the marble consistent with the material, notably to the proper left breast. There are various dirt residues to the surface. There are a few minor abrasions to the bottom edges of the marble. The wood plinth is in good condition. There are losses to the moulding on one side. There is stable splitting to the wood consistent with the material. There is some water damage to the top, and there are various small chips and losses to the edges.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The original Apollo Belvedere or Pythian Apollo, today in the Pio-Clementino museum, ranks among the most celebrated statues from antiquity. It is thought to be a Hadrianic copy, produced in c. 120-140 AD, after a fourth-century BC Greek bronze original. The Apollo was excavated in 1489, after which Giuliano della Rovere brought the statue to the Vatican when he became Pope Julius II in 1503. With its installation in the Cortile del Belvedere in 1511, the Apollo received a vast amount of attention from artists and commentators alike. Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, called "L'Antico", was one of the first to copy this iconic statue. It continued to be copied widely well into the nineteenth century and remains a famed symbol of the Grand Tour aesthetic.

The Diana of Versailles, or Diane Chasseresse, which represents the goddess of the hunt and chastity, was thematically paired with the Apollo Belvedere throughout the nineteenth century. In mythology the gods are twins, born on the Island of Delos. Both models are thought to be based on two Greek models by the hand of Leochares. This hypothesis refers to the striking similarities between the Diana of Versailles and the Apollo Belvedere.

The Diana of Versailles first arrived in France in 1556 as a present to Henri II from Pope Paul IV. It was one of the first pieces of monumental classical sculpture to have been brought to France. As with the Apollo Belvedere, its impact on the Parisian aesthetes was immense, instantly making it a popular subjects for draughtsmen and contemporary sculptors. The sculpture represents the goddess in action, reaching for her lethal arrow.

RELATED LITERATURE
S. Favier, "A propos de la restauration par Barthélémy Prieur de la "Diane à la biche", La Revue du Louvre et des musées de France, 1970, n 2, p. 71-77; F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique. The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven/London, 1981, pp. 148-151, 196-197

Carbisdale Castle: A History

Carbisdale Castle is a magnificent Scots Baronial residence situated in the heart of the Highlands, overlooking the beautiful Kyle of Sutherland. Constructed between 1906 and 1917, it was the last Castle to be built in Scotland. Its history is one of intrigue, scandal, war and peace, at the centre of which lies the formidable figure of its first resident, Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848-1912), the Duchess Blair. Married three times, her first husband, Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71^st Highland Light Infantry Regiment, died mysteriously in a hunting accident in 1883. In the months leading up to her husband’s death, Mary Caroline had embarked on a love affair with the 3^rd Duke of Sutherland. Rumour swirled around the untimely death and, according to one writer ‘the Duke was whispered to have been responsible’. When his first wife died in 1889 there was no bar to the Duke wedding his long term mistress. The two caused a major scandal by marrying only four months after the Duchess’ passing. Mary Caroline was branded the  ‘Duchess Blair’ by the Victorian public, the implication being that she was a social climber.

The tale of the Duchess Blair took a further twist with the death of the Duke, since his will left her the majority of the Sutherland inheritance. His natural heirs were incensed, contesting this legacy. During the course of legal proceedings it emerged that the Dowager had destroyed documents, and she was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment. An agreement was eventually reached providing the Dowager with a substantial financial settlement, including the stipulation that the family construct a residence befitting her station. The result, Carbisdale Castle, was built to her exacting standards, and, over a period of time, was gradually furnished with the magnificent collection of statuary and painting being offered in this sale. The Dowager nevertheless remained embittered by her lost inheritance and she constructed the Castle around a tower with clocks on only three sides. The wall without a clock faced Sutherland lands, illustrating the Duchess’ claim that she would not give the family the time of day.

The Castle and its collection were generously donated to its current custodians, the Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SYHA), by Captain Harold Salvesen in 1945, who had inherited it from his father, Colonel Theodore Salvesen. Scots of Norwegian descent, during the Second World War the family gave refuge to King Haakon VII of Norway at Carbisdale. It was here, in 1941, that the Norwegian King signed an agreement with the Soviet Union that Russian troops would vacate Norway after they had liberated the country from Nazi forces. From 1945 to 2010 this historic Castle, complete with a tumultuous history and said to be haunted, operated as a popular youth hostel, under the care of SYHA.

The Collection comprises an extraordinary narrative sweep which charts the development of European sculpture in the 19^th century, from the elegant Neoclassicism of the early part of the century – exemplified by works such as the Venus Italica after Antonio Canova – to the fantastical Romanticism of the Belle Époque years – seen in marbles such as Pasquale Romanelli’s Andromeda and the Sea Monster. Appropriately, two of the most beautiful sculptures are the Venus by Lawrence Macdonald and the Nymph at the Stream by David Watson Stevenson, two leading Scottish sculptors. Wider British sculpture is represented by Henry Weekes’ The Young Naturalist with its girl with billowing hair and its rocky base with intricately carved seaweeds. Carbisdale is the quintessential Victorian collection, a point underlined by the presence of two charming satyr’s by Emil Wolff, one of Queen Victoria’s favourite artists. The wonderful array of pictures, most of which are quality 19^th-century copies of Old Masters or original British landscapes, hints at the Duchess Blair’s desire to recreate the splendour that she had lost with the death of her husband, whose own Bridgewater Collection, was one of the greatest in Europe.