Nostell's missing Etruscan vases

A tale of love and loss

John Winn collected around fifty Greek and Etruscan vases on a Grand Tour of Europe in the early nineteenth century. Sadly John died of a mystery illness and never made it home, leaving his collection stranded on the continent. As a labour of love, his brother Charles rescued the vases, bringing them back to Nostell to be admired by contemporaries, many of whom thought the collection rivalled that in the British Museum. 

The collection survived until 1975, when it was sold at auction. The National Trust acquired a few for Nostell but the rest were bought by different collectors and scattered. Today all that exists in the collection are six vases, a small selection of miniatures and the description from a Christie’s sale catalogue to help us imagine these lost, personal treasures. 

A new addition 

During the summer, Becca Hoy is creating a new artwork inspired by the missing parts of this collection, which has travelled many miles and is now scattered to unknown places. Come and see the finished piece amongst the original vases in the Museum Room from September 2016. You can find out more about Becca and her work at Nostell here.