Ceres
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1 AD - 150 AD (Torso c. A.D. 1-150; restorations, c. 1750-80) - 1750 - 1780 (Torso c. A.D. 1-150; restorations, c. 1750-80)
Materials
Marble
Measurements
1540 x 620 x 410 mm
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Osterley Park and House, London
NT 772410.3
Summary
Marble statue probably representing Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture. Standing figure wearing chiton and himation, small bowl in outstretched left hand, two fruit in the right. An antique torso, right arm and hand possibly original. Italian, probably Rome, eighteenth century, a restored antiquity. Restorations are the head, left hand, bowl and part of draperies and the base. The head with its hair gathered up at the back is finely carved, in the style of François Duquesnoy.
Provenance
Probably acquired for Robert Adam's remodeling of the Marble Hall in the 1760s. First recorded in 1782 inventory of Osterley in the Marble Hall. Purchased from George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998) by HM Government in 1949 for the Nation and vested in the Victoria and Albert Museum; transferred to the National Trust in 2002.
Credit line
National Trust Collections (Osterley Park, The Jersey Collection)
References
Tomlin, 1986: Maurice Tomlin. “The 1782 inventory of Osterley Park.” Furniture History 22 (1986): pp.107-134., p.122