The Holkham Collection of Classical Sculptures

The Holkham Sculptures – Ancient Rome in an English Country House

In her scholarly and brilliantly illustrated book, Elizabeth Angelicoussis documents and assesses what is probably the best private collection of classical sculpture in Britain. She also does justice to the additional layer of significance given to the collection by its creator, the Earl of Leicester (1697–1759).

The splendid Palladian mansion of Holkham Hall in Norfolk houses a collection of classical sculpture in Britain acquired in Italy by its creator, the highly knowledgable Earl of Leicester in the first half of the 18th century. It comprises some twenty full-scale figures – Roman marble copies of Greek originals – as well as Roman portrait busts and other significant pieces. Casts of famous sculptures were chosen by the earl to round off his collection and to allow him to create a classical world of his own. His arrangement of the sculptures in the main rooms of the house gave them an additional significance that goes far beyond a mere collection of individual pieces.