OBJECT OF THE MONTH - NOVEMBER 2015
A CORK MODEL OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT PAESTUM
I'm late in posting my monthly object feature and I apologize for that. It's all due to the fact I was travelling for most of October and unable to get down to producing a posting on time. However, I hope you will enjoy reading about what I've chosen as its a corker (forgive the pun)!!
Firstly I have to confess that in contrast to all the other things I've written about this year, I have not seen it. An article about it appeared in the October 2nd issue of the Antiques Trade Gazette which I read every week and I was immediately taken with what I saw - it had to be my object of the month for November!
The article featured an early 19th century model of one of the three, well-preserved Greek temples to be found at Paestum in present day Campania, Italy. The model had been placed in a local auction house at Hampstead in North London with a pre-sale estimate of £5000-£8000. The vendor's great, great grandfather interestingly had connections with Naples; he'd been a tailor there to the Neapolitcan royal family! When sold the buyers, furniture dealers Thomas Coulbourn & Sons based in the West Midlands, paid the significant sum £44,000 pounds for it plus buyer's commission - producing a grand total of £51,700!!
Models like this one were made in response to demand from British Grand Tourists staying in Italy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries for easily transportable souvenirs. Many of them visited key archaeological sites like Paestum with their tutors and often produced accurately scaled and measured drawings to take home with them and remember there were no cameras available then! Models were a great souvenir and could be used for all sorts of purposes back home including display, inspiration for architectural projects and even teaching students in some cases. A thriving model industry flourished in Naples to satsify this demand and the workshop of Dominic Padiglione, who is thought to have made this model, was one of the most important in the city.
Peastum was an important Greek settlement on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea in what was then known as Magna Graecia. It was founded by Greek colonists and named Poseidonia and it would be the Roman who later named it Paestum. The Greeks built three temples there which have survived through to the present day in excellent condition - particularly compared with the Parthenon in Athens. They all date from the first half of the 6th century BC and were constructed in the doric order. The model represents an accurate representation of the second temple, originally dedicated to Hera and Poseidon, but also used for the worship of Zeus as well.
Cork from southern European oaks started to be used for model making in Italy in the late 18th century and being pliable and porous, as well as taking carving well (precision was deemed very important) - it suited model making. Domenico Padilglione was an official model maker for the Royal Museum in Naples in the early 19th century contributing work to the Gallery of Models of ancient monuments in the royal Museum. He made additional income from making models for Grand Tourists and probably used scale drawings to produce the three dimensional structures. His wife and children were also involved in the business. His models were known for their accuracy and quality and highly desirable.
Sir John Soane, the Regency architect to the Bank of England, renowned today for his house and collection open to the public in Lincoln's Inn, was an avid collector of models and used them in his teaching. Today the model room at Lincoln's Inn has been restored and it's once again open to the public. Models similar to the one sold at auction in September can be seen there and I'd recommend a visit next time you are in London.
It won't be long before it's time to introduce my last object for 2015 and I've chosen a painting with a suitable theme for the month of December. I hope you will come back then.
Ciao & KBO
Ian
A CORK MODEL OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT PAESTUM
I'm late in posting my monthly object feature and I apologize for that. It's all due to the fact I was travelling for most of October and unable to get down to producing a posting on time. However, I hope you will enjoy reading about what I've chosen as its a corker (forgive the pun)!!
Firstly I have to confess that in contrast to all the other things I've written about this year, I have not seen it. An article about it appeared in the October 2nd issue of the Antiques Trade Gazette which I read every week and I was immediately taken with what I saw - it had to be my object of the month for November!
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| CORK MODEL OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT PAESTUM c1820 SOLD AT AUCTION IN LONDON FOR £51,700 IN SEPTEMBER 2015 (2'2"x12"x10") |
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| Details of the Padiglione cork model of the Temple at Paestum |
Peastum was an important Greek settlement on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea in what was then known as Magna Graecia. It was founded by Greek colonists and named Poseidonia and it would be the Roman who later named it Paestum. The Greeks built three temples there which have survived through to the present day in excellent condition - particularly compared with the Parthenon in Athens. They all date from the first half of the 6th century BC and were constructed in the doric order. The model represents an accurate representation of the second temple, originally dedicated to Hera and Poseidon, but also used for the worship of Zeus as well.
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| The Second Temple at Paestum - 460-450BC. |
Sir John Soane, the Regency architect to the Bank of England, renowned today for his house and collection open to the public in Lincoln's Inn, was an avid collector of models and used them in his teaching. Today the model room at Lincoln's Inn has been restored and it's once again open to the public. Models similar to the one sold at auction in September can be seen there and I'd recommend a visit next time you are in London.
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| The restored model room at Sir John Soane's Lincoln's Inn house. |
Ciao & KBO
Ian
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