[111072] Kedleston Hall : Marble Hall - Urania

Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, 1758-65.

The National Trust.

By Matthew Brettingham (1699-1769), James Paine (1717-1789) & Robert Adam (1728-1792).

Interiors complete by the 1780s.

For Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale (1726-1804).

Grade l listed.

The Marble Hall.

 

Urania.

Workshop of Matthew Brettingham the younger (1725-1803).

Painted plaster, 1758.

 

In the niches of the walls are plaster cast copies of classical marble statues which were acquired in 1757-58. The casts are part of the collection formed by Sir Nathaniel Curzon before the house was built, and around which the chief Interiors were originally planned. There are duplicates within this display, with the 'Dancing Faun' and 'Medici Venus' featuring on either side of the Marble Hall, both of which were acquired second-hand by Curzon.

 

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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