[110978] Kedleston Hall : Funerary Urn

Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire.

The National Trust.

 

Monument to Michael Drayton, c1760-70.

A vase on a pedestal.

Elaborately carved, with curved sides towards the base, and swags. A large urn with fluted underside and foliage frieze.

Grade ll* listed.

 

The design for the urn was taken from a book on classical sculpture that is still in the library at Kedleston. It was dedicated to the poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631), who wrote a poem celebrating the English landscape.

 

The urn was probably placed in the garden in 1766. In this year, the main building work to the mansion was completed. It used to have an inscription in Greek, but this has completely eroded over time.

 

Kedleston Hall is an extravagant temple to the arts. Commissioned in the 1750s by Nathaniel Curzon whose ancestors had resided at Kedleston since the 12th century. The house is framed by historic parkland and boasts opulent interiors intended to impress.

 

Designed for lavish entertaining, Kedleston Hall displays an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture and original furnishings, reflecting both the tastes of its creators and their fascination with the classical world of the Roman Empire.

 

Inherited by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905, the hall also houses the many objects he amassed during his travels in South Asia and the Middle East, and in his role leading British rule in India.

 

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