The First Roubiliac Sale Catalogue.
Wednesday 12 May and the following three days.
At his Dwelling House in St Martins Lane.
I have already published the copy of the sale catalogue
https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-roubiliac-sale-catalogue-with-list.html
Lot 39 - A figure of Religion in plaster - bought by (Arthur? Pond).
This is presumably a plaster cast of the marble figure of Religion at Belgrave Hall, Leicester originally from the roof of the temple in the garden at the house of Charles Jennens (d.1773) at Gopsall Hall (built 1749/50).
The
temple was erected as a memorial to a friend of Charles Jennens, the classical
scholar Edward Holdsworth (1684-1746).
It was octagonal externally but internally circular, with eight columns
and surmounted with a domed roof. The
whole structure was surrounded by a brick-built ha-ha and entered via steps on
the south side.
The information above needs to be treateated with some scepticism - there is a painting of Gopsall with the Temple and statue of Religion attributed to Tillemans (1684 - 1734).
Given the date of his death it is unlikely to be by Tillemans see below
A statue of Religion
(Roubiliac, c 1760) adorned the domed roof and a cenotaph (by Richard Haywood,
1764), with inscriptions in memory of Holdsworth , stood within.
The temple collapsed in 1835 and the cenotaph
was moved to the formal gardens to the east of the Hall.
The statue of Religion was donated to
Leicestershire Museums and Art Galleries by Richard Penn in 1857. Both the statue and cenotaph are now on
display at Belgrave Hall, Leicester.
.
.......................
Sale of the Odds and Sods remaining at the Roubiliac premises after the first sale.
Saturday 12 June 1762.
...
The Missing Roubiliac Portrait Busts.
Day 1.
Lot 13. Mr Wildey. Plaster Bust.
Lot 16. A Gentleman.
Plaster Bust.
Lot 44. Mrs Nightingale. Mould in plaster.
Described in the catalogue and listed as Heads.
Lot 77. Lord Shannon. Terracotta Head. Possibly related to
the monument at Walton on Thames.
Lot 78. Lady Shannon. Terracotta Head. Ditto see my post -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2020/08/richard-boyle-viscount-shannon-monument.html
Lot 79. Mrs Lyon.
Terracotta Head.
........................................
Day 2.
Lot 7. Dr Bradbury. Plaster Bust.
Lot 12. Mr Carter
Statuary. Plaster Bust.
Lot 15, Captain
McKenzies son. Plaster Bust.
Lot 17. Mr Floyd.
Plaster Bust.
Lot 18. Mr Floyd.
Plaster Bust.
Lot 20. Mr Capel
Plaster Bust this is perhaps a relief. (Edward Capell {1713-81} known from
engravings by Bartalozzi at the BM).
Lot 76. A Gentleman. Terracotta Bust.
Lot 81. A Gentleman
Terracotta Bust.
Lot 77. ---- Capel.
Terracotta, Bust. (known from engravings
by Bartalozzi and Anker Smith at the BM).
Lot 85. Mr
Nightingale and his Lady, Terracotta Busts.
A Peter Nightingale (d, 1763) was a lead merchant! of Lea
and Ashover Derbyshire.
Could these be the models for the pair of lead busts
traditionally believed to be Mr and Mrs Salmon in the V and A?
Given that there were 6 of these busts in the sale it is odd
that none have come to light
Day 3.
Lot 19, Councillor
Floyd. Plaster Bust.
Lot 4. Britannia -
Plaster.
Lot 6. Mr Floyde -
Plaster.
Lot 28. Two Plaster
busts of Mr Nightingale and his Lady. (The Mould for Mrs Nightingale was Lot
44, Day 1). See my suggestion for Lot 85 on the previous day.
Lot 29. Ditto.
The identity of these Nightingales remains to be discovered,
perhaps those on Roubiliac's Nightingale monument in Westminster Abbey although
the "Salmon busts do not resemble the Nightingales on the monument.
Lot 73. A Lady. Marble bust.
...........................
Religion by Roubiliac from the Temple at Gopsall now at Belgrave Hall, Leicester.
Built for charles Jennens.
"Fides Christiana".
..........
The painting of Gopsall erroneously attributed to Tillemans.
Image from Wikimedia.
The
temple which was situated on a gentle eminence at the edge of the Racecourse wood, would
have provided an important focal point in the view south across the ornamental
lake from the Hall and formal gardens.
There were no temple structures in the original plans for the gardens
and formal parkland dated 1749.
The
original plans for the temple were drawn up by James Paine who also produced
designs for the Hall interiors, most of which were not executed.
Plans produced for Charles Jennens in about
1755 by William and David Hiorn depict an open temple which appears to be a
simplified version of the elaborate and decorative structure favoured by Paine.
This simplified version conforms to the
structure in existence today which must have been constructed in the late 1750s
as the Hiorns finished work at Gopsall in 1759/60.
.........
The Royal Institute of British Architects have many drawings related to the planned rebuilding of Gopsall
https://www.ribapix.com/search?q=Gopsall
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