Sculpture collections at Cliveden

Sculpture and topiary in the Long Garden in May at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire — The Long Garden in May at Cliveden | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

Cliveden is home to one of the most important sculpture collections in the National Trust. From ancient Roman sarcophagi to works by world-renowned Victorian sculptors, the quality and variety of the collection illustrates the contrasting tastes of its main collectors: the Duke (1786–1861) and Duchess (1808–1868) of Sutherland and William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919). The Sutherland’s were patrons of ‘new' art, enthusiastically embracing the contemporary sculptors of their day. In contrast Astor’s collection focussed on works from the classical world and renaissance Italy.

Fountain of Love in spring at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire | © ©National Trust / Hugh Mothersole

The Fountain of Love

Female figures frolic with winged putti amidst jets of water. This sensuous marble group, situated prominently on the Grand Avenue, was commissioned by William Walforf Astor from the sculptor Thomas Waldo Story.

Astor described the draped female figures as having discovered the fountain of love, caught at the point of ‘experiencing its wonderful elixir’. Astor displayed both boldness and courage in commissioning a contemporary artist to create such a dramatic, monumental piece.

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The Wounded Amazon

It’s unusual that a collector of sculpture is also a practitioner of the art. But Lord Astor was unique in this regard and this marble sculpture of a wounded Amazon may be his only existing signed work.

The Amazons were a race of warrior women in Greek mythology skilled with the bow and in horsemanship. Astor’s composition is based on classical examples but reinterpreted in a Romantic vein.

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The Wounded Amazon in the Long Garden at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire | © ©National Trust / Hugh Mothersole

A unifying heroine

The image of Joan of Arc was a potent symbol in the vision of a unified France under Louis-Philippe, who was sworn in as King in 1830 following the July Revolution. In 1835 Louis-Philippe commissioned a marble statue of Saint Joan from his daughter, Princess Marie Christine d’Orléans.

It proved to be a popular piece of sculpture and many copies were made. This bronze copy was brought to Cliveden by the Duchess of Sutherland who along with her son Lord Ronald Gower visited Joan of Arcs birthplace. Ronald went on to publish a biography of Joan in 1893.

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Prince Albert in Highland Dress

In this statue, Prince Albert strikes a solitary figure, standing on a rocky cairn in Highland dress. Despite its Romantic, rugged quality, the cast was produced in Birmingham using the ultra-modern method of electroplating.

During his life Albert was interested in marrying 'high art with mechanical skill'. He even visited the factory of Elkington & Co. to witness first-hand the pioneering sculptural method to produce casts like this. The Prince is presented in a private and personal mode rather than in the ceremonial clothes of a Royal Consort, reflecting the intimate, rather than official relationship enjoyed between Harriet Duchess of Sutherland and Queen Victoria.

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The Spirit of Liberty

The Sutherlands made extensive acquisitions of modern French sculpture, and this is perhaps the most radical of them all. Liberty is depicted as a male figure, crowned with a star, holding the torch of civilisation in one hand, and the snapped chain of bondage in the other.

Based upon an original sculpture in Paris that commemorated the July Revolution of 1830 in France, this figure of Liberty sculpture chimed well with the Sutherlands' taste for the modern and the innovative.

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An Ancient Egyptian stone baboon in the Long Garden at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire. — One of the Egyptian baboons in the Long Garden at Cliveden | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

The Cliveden baboons

According to William Waldorf Astor the two granite baboons in Cliveden’s collection were, ‘…found by me in Rome in 1898. They are Egyptian, of Great Antiquity, and doubtless stood before a temple dedicated to Thoth.’

Thoth was the ancient Egyptian god of writing and wisdom often depicted with the head of a baboon, which is considered to be a sacred animal.

The baboons' travels

Following his purchase Astor placed the baboons in his newly redesigned Long Garden, along with other pieces from his collection. The sculptures were removed in the 1960s and were in private ownership until they were donated back to the National Trust in the early 21st century.

Prior to their return to the garden, it was necessary for them to undergo complex and painstaking conservation work with sculpture specialists. One baboon was in a particularly poor state of repair, having been broken into several pieces in a fall.

The baboons' return to the garden was made possible by visitors who contributed over £12,000 to their conservation and reinstallation by buying a ticket for our annual raffle.

Ancient ‘flesh-eaters’

Some of the most remarkable objects in the collection are the eight ancient Roman sarcophagi (which translates from ancient Greek as flesh-eating stone) on display in the forecourt. William Waldorf Astor’s love of the ancient world was fostered during his time as the American Italian Interior Minister in Rome in the 1880s, from where he collected many of the classical pieces in his collection.

Constructed as burial containers the sarcophagi are decorated with a wonderful variety of designs from abstract, linear patterns to incredibly detailed mythological scenes.

More about the Roman sarcophagi

Please note that to protect the statues from the winter weather, they are covered from November to March each year.

Hidden Treasures of the National Trust

Cliveden features in episode 2 of the second BBC series of Hidden Treasures of the National Trust. The programme looks at the wonderful collection at Cliveden as well as focussing on our amazing group of statue cleaning volunteers. Go to BBC iPlayer to find out more!