Although almost all of the contents of Wentworth Woodhouse have long since left the building, there are a few elements of the original interior decorative schemes that survive in situ. One of these is a wonderful statue of Germanicus and that's the subject of this video.
We'll shortly be releasing a second video about the statue to bring you up to date with some exciting work that we're doing with our partners, the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and PES Scanning, both based in Sheffield.
We'll shortly be releasing a second video about the statue to bring you up to date with some exciting work that we're doing with our partners, the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and PES Scanning, both based in Sheffield.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:04 Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham in South Yorkshire
00:06 was once one of the great treasure houses of England.
00:10 It was full of fine furniture and great works of art, most
00:14 of which had long since departed.
00:16 Today, it's a vast empty palace, but many hints
00:20 remain of its past grandeur.
00:23 Here in the magnificent marble saloon,
00:26 there's one element of the decorative scheme
00:28 here at Wentworth Woodhouse that has survived.
00:30 Not all the sculptures in the collection at the house
00:32 were dispersed, and we still have an outstanding collection
00:36 of marble statuary.
00:38 It was the height of fashion in the mid-18th century
00:41 for young men of wealth to embark
00:43 upon a grand tour of Europe as part of their education.
00:47 This would include visits to the classical sites of Rome,
00:50 in particular.
00:51 And it was here that many of the works of art in the marble
00:54 saloon were actually made.
00:57 These aren't original Roman antiquities.
00:59 That wasn't necessarily important.
01:01 Owning high-quality copies of ancient original sculptures
01:05 was perfectly acceptable.
01:06 And an enormous industry developed
01:08 in the creation of grand tour pieces for wealthy patrons
01:12 to acquire.
01:13 The second Marcus of Rockingham was one such wealthy patron.
01:17 And he, like other rich young men of his day,
01:20 possessed a mania for the collection
01:22 of classical-style statuary.
01:24 All of the statues in the marble saloon
01:27 are carved in white marble.
01:29 Downstairs in the pillared hall, the statues in the niches
01:32 are all plaster copies of antique originals.
01:35 But the two large statues either side of the grand staircase
01:39 are made of white marble.
01:41 One of these statues is the subject of this film.
01:44 He's called Germanicus.
01:45 And he was commissioned in Rome by the second Marcus
01:48 in the 1750s.
01:50 The sculptor was Filippo della Valle.
01:53 He also made sculptures for the Trevi Fountain in Rome,
01:56 which we still marvel at today.
01:59 Germanicus was an immensely successful Roman general
02:02 and politician in the first century AD.
02:05 And he was hugely popular in his day.
02:08 He was the father of Emperor Caligula
02:11 and also the brother of Emperor Claudius.
02:14 So he was regarded by many as the ideal Roman.
02:18 And it was for this reason that a statue of Germanicus
02:21 was of such interest to the second Marcus.
02:23 By acquiring him and other statues of Greek and Roman
02:26 gods, as well as notable leaders such as Antinous,
02:30 Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar,
02:33 the second Marcus was displaying his taste, his refinement,
02:37 and his association with classical civilizations,
02:40 a connection which would have led him
02:42 to being held in the highest regard by the elite of his age.
02:46 Germanicus arrived at Wentworth Woodhouse
02:48 sometime in the 1760s.
02:51 He was originally displayed in the marble saloon
02:53 to one side of the main entrance.
02:56 But he was moved in 1902 to the building in the gardens
02:59 that we know of as the Camellia House.
03:02 He stood here with the companion statue of Antinous
03:05 until the 1980s, as shown in this amateur video made
03:09 in the 1940s.
03:11 The Camellia House fell into disrepair
03:13 from the mid-20th century.
03:15 The roof failed, allowing water into the building, which
03:18 poured over the statues.
03:19 And this explains the dirty appearance of Germanicus.
03:23 Both statues were returned to the house in the 1980s
03:26 to take up their current positions
03:28 here on either side of the grand staircase.
03:31 But there's no denying that however important
03:35 our statue of Germanicus is, he's
03:37 in less than ideal condition.
03:39 And we have a duty to protect and conserve him.
03:43 We're also always seeking ways to raise much needed funds
03:47 to support the work we do here at Wentworth Woodhouse.
03:50 And this is where working in partnership
03:52 and using 21st century technology comes into its own.
03:56 Join us in part two to learn more
03:59 about the exciting project we have underway with Germanicus
04:02 and our plans for how we can help in our fundraising
04:05 activities.
04:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:10 [MUSIC ENDS]
04:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]