Melpomene
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
circa 1801 - circa 1890
Materials
Marble on marble plinth
Measurements
1400 mm (Height)
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 438110.1
Summary
Marble, Melpomene, 19th century. Marble statue depicting Melpomene, one of six statues of muses installed atop the balustrade on the roof of the Orangery at Belton House (NT 438110.1–NT 438110.6). Melpomene, muse of tragedy, looks out to her right and holds a tragic mask at her left. She wears kothornos (buskins), traditional boots worn by tragic actors.
Full description
The Orangery was designed by Jeffry Wyatville (1766-1840) and erected from 1819. The small balusters on the roof and upon which the muses stand were supplied by the Coade Manufactory at Lambeth in 1819-20. By 1890 the statues of the muses had been installed. Alice Rylance-Watson October 2018
Provenance
Purchased with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) from Edward John Peregrine Cust, 7th Baron Brownlow, C. St J. (b.1936) in 1984.
Credit line
Belton House, The Brownlow Collection (acquired with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund by the National Trust in 1994)