[111048] Kedleston Hall : Medicean Lion

Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, 1758-65.

The National Trust.

The Medicean Lion.

The pedestal designed by Samuel Wyatt (1737-1807).

The lion by Joseph Wilton (1722-1803).

Grade ll* listed.

The standing lion has a forepaw raised and placed on a ball.

 

The lion is a copy of a Renaissance sculpture made for the Villa Medici in Rome in the 16th century. In the Villa Medici, it was one of a pair overlooking the garden. Other copies can be found at Stowe where they guard the steps up to the mansion. The ball under its paw represents the earth. Lions are traditionally associated with royalty and power.

 

Nathaniel Curzon commissioned his lion in 1759, soon after he'd inherited Kedleston, but it wasn't put in the garden until 1766. The lion still stands on a plinth designed by Samuel Wyatt, who we think was also responsible for the design of Kedleston's stables. The lion was always on its own.

 

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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