Roman splendour, English arcadia: the English taste for Pietre Dure and the Sixtus cabinet at Stourhead

Abstract

"At Stourhead in Wiltshire, the Palladian mansion contains an extraordinary Roman cabinet glittering with gilt-bronze mounts, semi-precious stones and elaborate architectural ornament. Its façade conceals over 125 more-or-less secret drawers. The cabinet was brought to Stourhead in the 1740s by Henry Hoare 'the Magnificent', of the Hoare banking dynasty; he had purchased it in Rome, where it had been made for Pope Sixtus V, whose papacy, from 1585 to 1590, coincided with the Spanish Armada. The superb quality of the 'Sixtus Cabinet' was fully revealed by conservation in 2006-7 and this galvanized research into its history." -- Publisher's description.

Contents

The English taste for Pietre Dure -- Roman Pietre Dure -- The supreme example: the Sixtus cabinet -- Sixtus v. The Villa Montalto and the Peretti Descent -- The young Henry Hoare -- Henry Hoare's grand tour -- Stourhead, the Sixtus cabinet and the first cabinet room -- Henry Hoare's 'rich frame or pedestal for the Sixtus cabinet' -- Sir Richard Colt Hoare and the second cabinet room -- The later history of the Sixtus cabinet.