Spetchley - Property from the Berkeley Collection
Spetchley - Property from the Berkeley Collection
FOUR CARVED CORK 'GRAND TOUR' SOUVENIRS, NAPLES, SECOND QUARTER 19TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY WORKSHOPS OF THE ROYAL MUSEUM, NAPLES
Auction Closed
December 11, 04:05 PM GMT
Estimate
2,000 - 3,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
FOUR CARVED CORK 'GRAND TOUR' SOUVENIRS, NAPLES, SECOND QUARTER 19TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY WORKSHOPS OF THE ROYAL MUSEUM, NAPLES
two burial chambers with removable roofs, one enclosing a painted fresco and both with grave goods, one The Nola Tomb; a model of the Temple of Neptune in Paestum, Campagna and another model of the front of this temple, the larger inscribed in ink to the underside Mr Berkeley / Hotel Victoria / Naples
largest burial chamber model: 18cm. high, 18cm. wide, 26.5cm. deep; 7in., 7in., 10½in.
Three generations of Berkeley's completed Grand Tours. These models were most likely acquired by Robert Berkeley (1794-1874) in 1823 or 1845 or by his son Robert Martin Berkeley (1823-1897) in 1842-1843. Both men visited Naples during their travels.
Inventory, 1893, ‘2 models of tombs on painted stands – 1 Greek found at Capra and one other’ in the Inner Hall
A craftsman possibly responsible for this extraordinary group may have been Domenico Padiglione who worked at the Royal Museum of Naples from 1806 as official model maker. He employed cork as his chief material, which was pliable and easy to carve. He produced superb models for the Gallery of Models of Ancient Monuments in the Royal Museum. Padaglione's workshops also sold models to Grand Tourists like the Berkeley family, whose surname is featured on one. It is easy to see how these would have appealed as exhibits for the private museum at Spetchley. There were cork models at Attingham a house Robert Berkeley visited in August 1823 when Lord Berwick's collection was sold, so he would have been familiar with these and others. Most great late 18th century and early 19th century collectors had these expensive models. Charlotte Ann Waldie, published an account of her travels in Italy. In 1817, when she was seriously ill in Rome, she wrote 'Visions of ancient ruins haunted my perturbed imagination. The colosseum, such as I had seen it in the cork model, was continually before my eyes' [1]. For a famous group, see those acquired for the most archetypal of private museums, that of architect John Soane (1753-1837), his model of the Temple of Neptune by Padiglione is still at his town house in London (museum no. MR25) interestingly his Model of The Nola Tomb (museum no. M1078), attributed to Padiglione was acquired from the same sale the Berkeley's attended, the auction of Lord Berwick's collection at Attingham.
[1] Richard Gillespie, 'The Rise and Fall of Cork Model Collections in Britain', Architectural History, 17 November 2017, p.117.