Plinth for Grecian Urn (copy)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
Unknown
Materials
Composite stone
Collection
Stowe, Buckinghamshire
NT 91978.2
Summary
Plain square plinth for Grecian Urn. A modern cast, in composite stone, taken from the original eighteenth century plinth.
Full description
The original stone Grecian Urn was commissioned by Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple (1711-1779). It was installed in the Grecian Valley by 1756 and described as a 'Stone urn with masked heads'. It remained in the Grecian Valley until it was sold in the 1921 sale to Sir Philip Sassoon and installed in the garden at Trent Park where it remains. As part of a programme to recreate lost iconography and reinstate significance and meaning back into the gardens at Stowe, modern casts have been taken from the original Urn and Plinth. Following archaeological investigations, this copy has been installed in the original location and the planted setting recreated.
Provenance
A copy of the original eighteenth century plinth for the Stowe Grecian Urn, sold in 1921 to Sir Philip Sassoon and now at Trent Park. Copy commissioned by the National Trust and installed in Stowe Gardens in February 2019.