e xhibition room
a d b c
This plaque was probably always intended to be framed (there is a small unglazed border around the work), although this frame that Alice purchased it in, and paid to repair, is unlikely to be its original one. Despite the receipt claiming that the frame is a repaired 17th-century one, its elaborate nature indicates a later date.
f abc de NORTH WALL PAINTINGS h g j ik
This panel would have originally been a devotional object in a church, most likely the left wing of a triptych (a painting in three parts, hinged together), whose central panel would have depicted either the Holy Family or the Annunciation and the other wing St Barbara (as is the case with another version, now in the Mauritshuis). The buying and selling of religious art as decorative objects became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century, with altarpieces being sold as individual parts, and often displayed as though they were portraits. Alice had many paintings of saints, and St Catherine in particular, perhaps owing to her frequent depiction as a contemplative scholar.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963. 1922 probate no: W1/135/3, acc no: 2951. Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Brothers on 15 May 1906, for £60.
Purchased by Alice from Henry G. Bohn on 21 March 1885, for £131.5s.
It would have been painted for a private chapel or house, however it was displayed by Alice in the Smoking Room at Waddesdon. Like a number of the paintings on this wall, it is a religious image that has been repurposed as a decorative object. The landscape is a later addition over the original gilt background, most likely in the 16th century, in order to adapt the work to contemporary taste. It is also interesting to note the intimacy of the painting, with the Christ Child’s embrace of his mother unusual in Renaissance depictions of this subject.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
Purchased by Alice before 1922. e
After Master of Frankfurt (c. 1460-c. 1533) Saint Catherine of Alexandria c. 1510-1520 oil on Antwerp,panelBelgium
This scene depicts St Anne seated on the throne of wisdom, with her daughter and grandchild, the Madonna and Child, seated before her, while St Augustine and St Jerome stand either side of them. The baby Jesus holds a goldfinch, prefiguring the Passion. A post-biblical legend holds that when Jesus was carrying his cross, a goldfinch plucked a thorn from his head in an act of mercy, and its head was stained red by his blood. Comparing this with the very different Madonna and Child to the left reveals the breadth of Alice’s connoisseurship, and her imaginative redisplay of the Smoking Room, combining religious paintings with a secular treasury.
Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altar Workshop (active 1480-1510) Madonna and Child with Saint Anne, Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome 1500-1510 oil on Cologne,panelGermany
This painting of St Catherine of Alexandria was bought by Alice de Rothschild in 1885, making it one of her earliest documented purchases, predating her inheritance of Waddesdon in 1898. It is inventoried in 1922 in the Hall at Eythrope Pavilion, Miss Alice’s adjoining estate. The Eythrope estate was purchased in 1875 and the Pavilion was built as an entertainment and show space, housing much of Alice’s collection of Renaissance art. This wall shows the breadth of her Renaissance painting collection, ranging from the religious, to the secular.
This plaque depicting the Holy Family, along with St Anne and a young St John the Baptist, was purchased by Alice in 1906. One of her early tasks as Ferdinand’s executor was to oversee the transition of Ferdinand’s Waddesdon Bequest to the British Museum and to decide how to furnish the Bachelors’ Wing, after the departure of nearly 300 objects that made up the bequest. As the majority of her brother’s ‘Renaissance Museum’ left for London, Alice made her own decisions about what the Bachelors’ Wing should look like.
Circle of Master of the Legend of the Magdalen (active c. 1483- c. 1530) Madonna and Child c. 1490-1520, 1500-1550 (landscape background) oil on Flanders,panelBelgium
Bequest of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1988. 1922 probate no: W1/129/5, acc no: 8078. Purchased by Alice between 1906 and 1922, probably from Goldschmidt on 12 June 1906.
1922 probate no: E1/18/1, acc no: 22.1997.
1922 probate no: E1/1/3, acc no: 5284.
This small Madonna and Child was originally half of a diptych (two paintings hinged together which can be opened like a book).
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: W1/128/5, acc no: 4103. Purchased by Alice probably from Charles Davis for £400, on 25 August 1905.
A fragment of a larger panel, or part of a multi-panelled painting, this painting depicts a group of onlookers, a detail from the biblical subject of Christ carrying the cross. The focal point of the work is now the elaborately dressed Landsknecht, seen from behind, who is surrounded by a multi-cultural crowd of bystanders. Landsknechts were highly successful Germanic mercenaries whose regiments were primarily made up of pikemen and foot soldiers. Depictions of the road to calvary often included people of all ages and races, to underline the universality of Christ’s message.
Painter of the Coalmine Service (active mid 16th Century) Plaque c. tin-glazed1546earthenware and wood Urbino, Italy
German School A Landsknecht and Bystanders c. 1510-1520 oil on panel South Germany
The painting appears in the 1922 Eythrope inventory as being hung in the staircase and so may have also been acquired before Alice inherited Waddesdon. It is an interesting work not just for its religious narrative, but also for its costume. Landsknechts were known to ignore sumptuary laws (legislation put in place to limit extravagance), spending their significant salaries on elaborate clothing, weaponry and armour. This panel, disjointed from its original religious composition becomes a portrait of the unidentified soldier, his status and wealth given primacy in a way that would not be usual in Renaissance portraiture.
Rothschild Family
Circle of Master of the Freising Visitation (active 1451-1490) Saint John on Patmos c. 1495 oil on Bavaria,panelGermany
Portrait of an Unknown Man, called 'Henri duc de Guise' c. 1495 oil on Flanders,panelBelgium
A Lady in White c. 1605 oil on panel Paris, France
Alice purchased this painting as a portrait of St Hubert and a couple of weeks later in 1907, she paid for the gilt wood frame. It is likely that it was originally a predella panel (lower panel of an altarpiece) and would have been one of a number of depictions of saints. In Alice’s posthumous 1922 inventory the painting was in the Smoking Room but listed as St Sebastian. Due to his dress and the way he holds the bow and arrows, it is more likely to be St Hubert who was the first Bishop of Liège and became the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. This is one of the few Spanish works recorded in Alice’s collection, and may be from the large workshop of Jaume Huguet, the leading painter in Barcelona in the 15th century. He made works for parish churches, trade guilds and the nobility, with distinctive textured gilt backgrounds.
1922 probate no: E1/18/5, acc no: 8077. Purchased by Alice at the Cosens sale 19 May 1890.
Circle of Jaume Huguet (1412-1492) Saint Hubert 1480-1500 oil on panel Spain
Alice purchased this painting at a Christie’s auction in 1890 and it was probably bought for display at Eythrope, where it is inventoried in 1922. Alice was well-read and interested in history, and so this painting may have appealed to her because it was believed to be a portrait of Henri I, duc de Guise (1550-88), sometimes called Le Balafré (Scarface). He was an important figure in the French Wars of Religion, founder of the Catholic League and opponent of Catherine de’ Medici. This identification has however since been disputed. Either way, the painting is an example of Alice’s interest in collecting portraits of historically important figures and her choice to display them alongside her religious Renaissance art.
This portrait is of François de Lorraine, the duc de Guise, father of Henri duc de Guise. The portrait was probably painted in the workshop of François Clouet, a renowned French Renaissance painter. Alice collected a number of cabinet pictures and miniatures, some of which are displayed in the case below this wall. The artist depicts the nobleman and soldier dressed in fine yet restrained clothing, gazing out confidently. Alice displayed this and similar portraits in the Smoking Room at Waddesdon.
Bequest of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1988.
Style of François Clouet (c. 1516-1572) François de Lorraine, duc de Guise (1519 - 1563) c. 1555 oil on Francepanel
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: W1/128/2, acc no: 8075. Purchased by Alice before 1922.
Portrait of a Man (called Frans Floris) c. 1515-1540 oil on panel South Germany
Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: W1/128/1, acc no: 8074. Purchased by Alice from J&S Goldschmidt for £450 on 27 June 1906.
This portrait of an unknown lady was also displayed in the Hall at Eythrope according to the 1922 inventory. As well as images of female saints, Alice seems to have been fond of collecting portraits of elegant women. Like the other portraits on this wall it demonstrates secular Renaissance taste, with the sitter’s distinctive hair-style and jewellery helping to date the work to the first decade of 16th century France. Etienne Dumonstier worked for the French Royal family for over 50 years, beginning his service under Henri II, when the artist was just 13 years old. This painting may be from his workshop.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: E1/1/5, acc no: 3539. Purchased by Alice before 1922.
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Alice inherited from her brother Baron Ferdinand two albums of French sixteenth- and seventeenth-century drawings of portraits of members of the French court, in the style of Clouet and Daniel Dumonstier. The volumes include a drawing of an older duc de Guise but with the same recognisable features. The albums had previously belonged to Waddesdon’s architect, Gabriel Hippolyte Destailleur (1822-1893). These types of albums containing copies of drawings of notable figures in history were highly collectable for both their artistic and historical merit. Alice may have referred to the albums while building her collection of Renaissance portraits.
In June 1906 Alice purchased this painting with the simple title 'Man with a Carnation, school of Holbein' for £450. Though it is small in size, its association with Hans Holbein (c. 1497-1543) is likely to have intrigued Alice (and driven up its price), because of his links with the Tudor royal family, as Painter to Henry VIII, and the view that his was a golden age in English painting. The man is depicted half length, wearing an expensive fur trimmed coat, holding a carnation. From this it can be inferred that he was of the merchant class, and that the work was potentially a marriage portrait whose pair would have been the sitter’s wife, as pink carnations are associated with love and fidelity. The inscription ‘FRANSISCVS FLORIS PICTOR’ is likely to have been added later as it has been argued that the style of dress is too early for it to be a portrait of the Northern Renaissance painter Frans Floris (c. Accepted1519-70).byHM
Style of Frans Pourbus The Elder (c. 1545-1581)
This panel is likely to be a fragment of a taller narrow wing of an altarpiece, since it appears to have been cut off from above and below, with the edges being painted. The subject is St John, with his eagle attribute, being inspired to write the book of Revelations during his exile on Patmos. This painting is another fine example of German Renaissance religious art, and is likely to have originally been displayed in a church in Bavaria (South East Germany), where St John was a popular saint. On its reverse is a depiction of Christ the Man of Sorrows, which is likely to have been the main image its original viewers would have encountered most frequently, as altarpieces were often only opened for special high masses and saint days. When the altarpiece was broken down to be sold, the portrait of the saint was preferred over the larger tortured figure of Christ, as a more appealing picture for a new secular or domestic space.
German School
Circle of Etienne Dumonstier (c. 1540-1603)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: W1/128/3, acc no: 8076. Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Bros for £300, on 29 July 1907, frame purchased from Durlacher Bros for £20.12, on 24 September 1907.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
1922 probate no: E1/1/1, acc no: 2953. Purchased by Alice before 1922.
Pair of Plaques depicting The Annunciation and The Nativity c. 1600 copper, enamel, gold, velvet and Limoges,woodFrance
In the Catholic mass, the Kiss of Peace was exchanged between members of the congregation until the Middle Ages, when kissing each other began to be replaced by kissing a pax, which was handed to every member of the congregation in turn. This precious object is delicately decorated with paintings on metal of The Nativity and The Crowning of the Virgin with details inset with gold.
1922 probate no: W1/130/4, acc no: 121.2015.
The plaques are part of a larger set of 12 depicting stories from the Life of Christ. As was usual for this kind of painted enamel, they were based on contemporary prints, in this case by Flemish artists Cornelis Cort (1533c. 1578) for the Annunciation and Jan I Sadeler (1550-1600) for the Nativity. Alice collected Limoges enamels, largely mirror cases, from at least 1904 as part of her interest in Renaissance art, and bought other pieces by Suzanne de Court, as well as inheriting them from her brother Ferdinand.
Gift of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1971.
it to be Byzantine but it is probably later. She displayed it in the Billiard Room Corridor in the Bachelors’ Wing at Waddesdon Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963. 1922 probate no: W1/125/3, acc no: 3864. Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Brothers, for £180, on 18 August 1913.
However, Alice seems to have favoured the subject of St George slaying the dragon – she also had a large painting of the same subject in her staircase at Eythrope, and the ivory to the right shows the same subject in the centre. It maybe was linked with the fact she was also collecting arms and armour at the same time, for display in the corridor of the Bachelors’ Wing, and St George is often represented wearing armour.
1922 probate no: W1/135/5, acc no: 2939.
Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Brothers, for £2,000, on 1 August 1917.
Maiolica made in the town of Deruta, Umbria is characterised by its use of lustre (iridescent metallic glazes), and its generous patterned borders. The subject is an unusual one for Deruta ceramics, which most often showed le belle donne – portraits of beautiful ladies – a display of which can be seen in the Smoking Room.
1922 probate no: W1/136/5, acc no: 3086.
When Ferdinand’s Renaissance Museum (now the Waddesdon Bequest) left for the British Museum after his death in 1898, it contained only four pieces of majolica (tin-glazed earthenware produced in Italy from the fifteenth century onwards). For Ferdinand, the German Renaissance was of more interest than the Italian one. Alice seems to have had broader tastes and she acquired the vast majority of the majolica in the collection, some of which she displayed in the Hall at Eythrope, as well as in the Bachelors’ Wing at Waddesdon. She created interiors inspired by the sixteenth century in particular, which combined objects from all over Europe and mixed the most precious metals with boldly decorated earthenware.
The tiny heraldic device in the centre, showing a snake wearing a coronet swallowing a person is associated with the Duchy of Milan, so it is possible this was made for one of the dukes. The initials LD may denote Ludovico Duce (Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan), who reigned between 1494 and 1499. Alice displayed it in her Smoking Room and a photograph from 1902 shows it on a carved table in front of a mirror, with candlesticks and a silver-gilt lion, mimicking an Rothschildaltarpiece.Family
The intense, almost shimmering, colour of this pair of plaques is thanks to the painted enamel technique, where ground glass is mixed with metal oxides, laid over copper and fired. Both opaque and translucent enamel over silver foils has been used, which creates the luminous effect. Limoges was a famous centre of production for such objects, with a number of prestigious makers. Suzanne de Court, who made these, is the only known female head of a workshop. She often signed her work and you can see her signature at the foot of the lectern in The Annunciation.
Urbino Maiolica Workshops Plate c. tin-glazed1560earthenwareUrbino,Italy
Leaf of a panagiarion c. 1600-1700 ivoryRussia or Greece
Suzanne de Court (active c. 1600)
The scene on this dish is biblical and depicts Moses calling down Manna from heaven while the Israelites collect it into jars and baskets. It came from the celebrated Fountaine collection, which was sold by Christie’s in 1884, although Alice bought it from the dealer Seligmann over twenty years later
This object was originally hinged with a matching roundel, to form a case in which was kept the ‘panagia’, bread dedicated to the Virgin in an Eastern Orthodox Mass. The convex side is decorated with St George and the dragon surrounded by twelve saints, probably the Apostles, whereas the other side shows the Virgin of the Sign, her arms raised in prayer, which symbolises the Immaculate Conception. She is surrounded by the Fourteen Holy Helpers. It probably originally had metal fittings, which enabled it to be closed and hung as a Alicependant.believed
Purchased by Alice from Seligmann for 10.000 francs on 14 September 1906.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
RENAISSANCE OBJECTS CASE
Deruta Maiolica Workshops
Purchased by Alice for £200 from Durlacher Brothers on 9 June 1909.
Dish c. tin-glazed1550earthenware with metallic lustreDeruta, Italy
1922 probate no: W1/138/1, acc no: 3163.1- 2.
Pax c. 1500 gilt metal set with agate, lapis lazuli and painted plaques inset with gold Florence (or possibly Milan), Italy
in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Purchased by Alice before 1922.
This is probably the bowl of a tazza, or footed dish. It is decorated using a hammered technique called chasing with an allegorical scene of a man mowing using a scythe, representing one of the Labours of the Months. Above is Leo, the sign of the Zodiac for August. Tazze were used on the table for sweetmeats in the 16th and 17th centuries, and so were often made in sets. This bowl was probably made in the southern German city of Nuremberg, a centre for goldsmiths’ work. It is stylistically similar to pieces by Hans Jamnitzer II, whose father, Wenzel, was one of the most famous goldsmiths of the time. We don’t know for sure who made it, because it is unmarked, or how it lost its foot, probably as a result of damage.
1922 probate no: E1/1/4, acc no: 8072. Purchased by Alice before 1922
1922 probate no: W1/77/1, acc no: 2961.
Rothschild Family
Alice’s brother Ferdinand had an impressive collection of 16th-century silver-gilt objects, including a set of 12 tazze, which he bequeathed to the British
This plaque, and its pair in the Smoking Room, are in the style of one of the most renowned Limoges enamel painters, Léonard Limousin. He worked for the French court and was famous for his portraits in both enamel and paint, as well as for a distinctive use of pale, opaque colour. He was one of a family of seven artists, and over 2000 pieces are attributed to him. His work was highly sought after by collectors in the 19th century, which in turn led to the production of a number of fakes.
Plaque depicting the goddess Ceres c. copper,1550-60enamel and gold, with 19thcentury velvet and wood frame Limoges, France
Pyx c. 1200-1300 or later gilt copper and enamel Limoges, France
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
This painting of the Mystical Marriage of St Catherine was displayed in the Hall at Eythrope, the Medieval and Renaissance gallery of Alice’s pavilion. The subject was recorded in the 1922 inventory as being the Madonna and child enthroned with a kneeling St Magdalene and since there is no receipt for it in the archive, we do not know if this was what Alice believed or if this was a later misidentification. St Catherine was an early martyr, who had a vison that she married the Christ child in a dream, with the Virgin as a witness. This story only became popular in the 15th century, more than 1000 years after Catherine’s death, so this is a relatively early depiction of the subject.
The enamel industry in Limoges had two great periods of success, and this object probably dates from the first flowering of the craft, between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. The majority of the city’s products at that time were for use in churches. The decoration is made using a technique called champlevé enamelling, in which hollows are carved out of a copper object, filled with a vitreous material (powdered glass), and then fired at high temperature to fuse the two materials.
Also made in the town of Deruta, this dish depicting a male portrait diverts from the more usual dishes depicting portraits of women. Alice obviously understood the link between this and the belle donne dishes on show in the Smoking Room, as her probate inventory shows she displayed them as a group, and she purchased it at the same time as two of them. The man is lavishly dressed, but it is unknown whether he is a portrait of a real person or not. She paid £800 for it in 1913 when it was sold to her with a companion plate depicting a woman, which may be a pair or they may have been put together by the dealers, Durlacher.
As an early Renaissance Italian panel, it stands out amongst other paintings in the collections here, and distinguishes Alice as a collector of varied and independent taste
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: W1/136/3, acc no: 2940. Purchased by Alice for £800 with a companion plate, from Durlacher Brothers on 2 July 1913.
Style of Hans II Jamnitzer (1539-1603) Dish depicting Summer c. 1590 silver Augsburg,gilt Germany
It was acquired by Alice some time before 1922 along with another from the same set, also without its stem and foot, and appears in the inventory of the Smoking Room in 1922.
AcceptedMuseum.byHMGovernment
This small box, called a pyx, would have been used to house the consecrated host (round wafers of bread, the body of Christ, for the Eucharist). It could be used to take the host to those who were unable to attend Roman Catholic Mass because they were sick. The conical lid is hinged and could be secured with a pin or thread so as to avoid any damage occurring to the sacred contents. The white enamelled areas on the outside contain the holy monogram IHS in reverse.
The plaque is based on a 16th-century print and shows Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture holding a sheaf of corn in a carriage drawn by lions. It has evidence of some overpainting, so may have been restored before Alice acquired it in 1909. It and its companion plaque, which depicts the goddess Juno, may have been put into their elaborate frames around the same time, so they could be hung on the wall like paintings.
Attributed to Lazzaro Bastiani (c. The1430-1512)MysticalMarriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria c. 1470 oil on Venice,panelItaly
Style of Léonard Limosin (c. 1505c. 1576), after the Master of the Die (active c. 1532)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
1922 probate no: E1/16/8, acc no: 46.1997.
Acquired by Alice from Charles Davis, for £2,400 for this and its pair, on 14 May 1909.
Probably painted by Giacomo Mancini (called El Frate) (active c. 1540-c. 1560) Dish c. 1540-c. 1560 tin-glazed earthenware Deruta, Italy
When it was sold in 1884, it was attributed to Hans Holbein (14971543) and thought to depict the Duke of Norfolk. When Alice acquired it from Durlacher Bros., they attributed it to Corneille de Lyon. It vaguely resembles a portrait by Holbein of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk (1473-1554) in the Royal Collection, but more for the outfit than any facial similarities.
Attributed to Franz Rohrich (1787-1834)
This double portrait of two women, whose lives were entangled by politics, marriage, adultery and accusations of witchcraft, is most likely an elaborate 19th-century fake. Isabeau of Bavaria married Charles VI, the King of France in 1385. Her grandfather was murdered by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, in the same year, who was the father of Valentina Visconti. She was later banished from the French Court by Isabeau, who suspected her of adultery with Charles VI, whilst rumours abounded that Isabeau was having an affair with Valentina’s husband, who was later murdered on this suspicion.
After Corneille de Lyon (born before Jean1510-1575)d'Albon de Saint-André (14721549) 1540s oil on panel Lyon, France
Attributed to Issac I Oliver (c. 1565-1617)
Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France (1371-1435) and Valentina Visconti, duchesse d’Orléans (1366-1408) probably 1810-1830 oil on Germanypanel
On the receipt from Durlacher Bros., it is described as ‘portrait of Sir Francis Drake with armillary sphere and device 'I know I shall be recognised', dated 1569, in original state, original old fish-skin locket.' It is, however, unlikely to depict Drake as it is dated 1569, before he became well known.
The sitter is shown within an armillary sphere, a mathematical instrument that demonstrates the movement of celestial bodies around an artificially stationary Earth. The sitter takes the place of our planet, and is surrounded by an Italian inscription which translates as ‘I know that I am in harmony’. Both the sphere and the inscription are evidently loaded with symbolic meaning that, until we know the real identity of the sitter, we can only infer.
1922 probate no: W1/142/1, acc no: 2849
in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
Anne of Denmark c. 1604 watercolour on vellum set in an enamelled case decorated with Englandflowers
Alice was interested in history, and this period is full of intrigue and drama. This portrait came from the collection of the renowned art collector Hollingworth Magniac, which caused a sensation when it was sold at Christie’s in 1892, and included many portraits of historical figures. Rohrich may not have sold his works as sixteenthcentury originals, but later art dealers were quick to capitalise on his talent, at a period where there was a great revival of interest in art of the sixteenth century
Man in an Armillary Sphere 1569 watercolour on vellum, gilt metal, glass and leather England
Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Brothers for £600.00 on 23 June 1913.
1922 probate no: W1/129/1, acc no: 2976.
Queen Consort to Elizabeth’s successor, James VI and I, and attributed to Hilliard’s pupil, Isaac I Oliver.
Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Bros., along with a miniature and another portrait by Corneille de Lyon (on view in the Smoking Room) for a total of £1400, on the 30 July 1918.
Possibly attributed to Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547-1619)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Miniatures were very fashionable objects, as well as important political tools in the late Tudor and early Stuart royal courts. The wearing of miniatures was a way to show favour or demonstrate loyalty, with royals often giving them as gifts to courtiers. The date of this one almost coincides with the accession of James I to the English throne in 1603, after which miniatures of Anne became increasingly popular. Ferdinand also collected miniatures contemporary with this one, the most famous of which is ‘The Lyte Jewel’ c.1610-11, depicting James I, included in his bequest to the British AcceptedMuseum.byHMGovernment
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
When Alice purchased this intricate miniature and displayed it in the Smoking Room, she believed it to be a portrait of Elizabeth I by renowned miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard, but it has since been identified as the earliest known portrait of Anne of Denmark,
Both the identity of the artist and the subject of this miniature have been debated over the years, but Alice acquired it believing it was a portrait of Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596), which would have appealed to her taste for portraits of historic figures.
1922 probate no: W1/142/4, acc no: 3542. Purchased by Alice from Durlacher Bros., for £900, on 7 of May 1914.
RENAISSANCE OBJECTS CASE continued
Acquired by Alice before 1922.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
Variously identified in the past, the sitter is now thought to be Jean d'Albon, Sieur de Saint-André, a royal administrator of Lyon. Eleven versions of this composition are known, which is not unusual for Corneille de Lyon's portraits of important people, and a version at Chatsworth is thought to be the original. Three of the versions bear inscriptions identifying the sitter as Saint-André. This is a contemporary copy perhaps done in Corneille de Lyon’s workshop. The style of the costume and the age of the sitter dates the original composition to 1535-40. He wears the medal of Order of Saint Michael on his chest, which he received in 1530.
1922 probate no: E1/11/8, acc no: 8179.
John Hoppner (1758–1810)
Accepteddiscovery.byHMGovernment
1922 probate no: W2/14/1, acc no: 347.1997. Purchased by Alice for 310 guineas from P&D Colnaghi on 11 July 1905.
oil on canvas Paris, France
in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
The steely grey-blues and greens of his outfit and the curtain behind are enlivened by the colours of the expensive, luxury toys: the coral rattle handle; the rocking horses's bows; the pink cheeks of the doll and the ribbon around the toy cat's neck. Although Alice acquired this painting from Charles Davis, it had previously belonged to Arthur de Rothschild (1851-
1922 probate no: W2/13/8, acc no: 3510.
This portrait of a boy in fine ‘Van Dyck’ costume is by Joseph Highmore, who with some of his contemporaries paid homage to Sir Antony van Dyck (1599-1641), court painter to Charles I, through portraits like this. Thomas Gainsborough’s studies of boys in ‘Vandyke’ masquerade – historical fancydress - are the most famous in this genre and you can see Waddesdon’s magnificent ‘Pink Boy’ and other Gainsboroughs on display later this year in the Red Ante-Room. It includes a portrait of the artist’s nephew Gainsborough Dupont (1773), also purchased by Alice in 1910.
This painting depicts two young sisters within a landscape. The subject of children is one of which Alice was especially fond, as this wall illustrates. The girls are informally attired in cotton dresses in comparison to the sumptuous silks of the boy in yellow, or ceremonial splendour of the infant duc de Montpensier on the same wall, reflecting the change in fashion at the dawn of the nineteenth century. When Alice purchased this work it had been attributed to Richard Cosway (1742–1821), one of the most fashionable miniaturists of the eighteenth-century whose mature style epitomised early regency taste. The dealer she acquired it from in 1905, Colnaghi, would go on to publish a catalogue raisonné in 1909 of the works of John Hoppner, fellow Royal Academician and contemporary of Cosway, in which this painting was included. This leaves us wondering whether the earlier attribution was based on its higher market value or if it was just a later
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957. 1922 probate no: W1/57/2, acc no: 481. Purchased by Alice on 23 July for £6500 from Charles Davis.
The Daughters of Lady Boynton as Children 1800-1805 oil on Englandcanvas
This portrait weaves together several threads of Alice’s collecting interests. It depicts a powerful, elegant and educated woman and was painted by another, Vigée-LeBrun, official painter to Queen Marie Antoinette. It is also a fine example of French eighteenth-century art, the overwhelming passion of the Rothschild family. The sitter is depicted in fashionable and elaborate dress, sitting on a red velvet chair, rendered with a sensitivity and naturalness which suggests an informal encounter. Geneviève Le Couteulx du Molay married into a wealthy banking family and was mistress of the famous residence Malmaison (an entertaining house like Waddesdon) until 1799 when it was sold to Joséphine and General Napoleon Bonaparte. VigéeLeBrun painted this portrait during a stay at Malmaison, perhaps coinciding with one of the literary salons Madame du Molay was known to hold.
Louis-Philippe-Joseph(1703-1770)ducdeMontpensier, later the duc d'Orléans (17471793) 1749
The fleur-de-lis on his bonnet and rattle identify him as royal. LouisPhilippe was a member of the second most powerful family in France, the Orléans, descended from the brother of King Louis XIV of France.
Lady Elizabeth Isabella Manners as a Child (1778 - 1853) 1779-1782 oil on London,canvasEngland
Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (1755-1842) Madame Le Couteulx du Molay (1753-1801) 1788 oil on Francecanvas
From around 1779 to 1782, Peters painted a number of family portraits for the 4th Duke of Rutland (1754-1787), of which this is one. It shows Elizabeth, the eldest child of the Duke. The same sitter was painted a year later with her brother by Sir Joshua Reynolds. She married Richard Norman in 1798, and by 1910, just before Alice de Rothschild bought it, the painting had passed by descent to John F C Norman, who must have been a descendent of Lady Elizabeth.The Duke of Rutland was a consistent patron of Peters, and Lady Elizabeth also sat for him again for another portrait shortly after she had married in 1799. Peters trained with Thomas Hudson and travelled in Italy where he admired the colours used by Correggio and Venetian painters. Around the time this portrait was painted, he decided to become a clergyman and also became Curator of Pictures at Belvoir Castle, the Manners’ seat in Rutland.
There was renewed interest in his work at the period Alice acquired this picture, and a catalogue raisonné of his paintings and prints was published by Lady Victoria Manners. Alice hung this picture in the Bedroom Corridor at Waddesdon, alongside the Vigée LeBrun it is next to in this exhibition.
Despite the beautiful dress this child is wearing, it is in fact a portrait of a boy - the two-year-old future Duc d'Orléans, known during the French Revolution as Philippe-Egalité. All babies and children wore dresses at this time until boys were ‘breeched’ (put in breeches) around the age of four.
A Boy in Van Dyck Costume 1748 oil on London,canvasEngland
François Boucher
Joseph Highmore (1692-1780)
This was one of three works by Highmore that Alice bought, at a time when his work was starting to be ‘rediscovered’. The Sunday Times in November 1909 commented‘…a resurrection of special interest is a portrait by Joseph Highmore, who so closely approximated the style of Hogarth that the attainments of the disciple had almost been forgotten and his works not infrequently identified with those of his master’, and later art historians have attributed the rise in his success in part to Alice’s purchase of this painting. In his day, Highmore was a successful artist, who painted portraits and scenes from the novel, Pamela by Samuel Richardson, to serve as models for book Rothschildillustrations.Family
Matthew William Peters (1742-1814)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: W2/12/7, acc no: 3851. Purchased by Alice on 13 July 1911 for £1150 from Charles Davis.
Rothschild Family 1922 probate no: W2/13/1, acc no: 34.2007. Purchased by Alice on 2 June 1909, at the same time as an enamel plaque, for £6,400 from Charles Davis.
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1903), one of her cousins. Another smaller oval portrait of Louis-Philippe from the same study showing him eating soup, belonged to Charlotte de Rothschild (1825-1899), Arthur’s mother. Alice bought 3 of the 5 paintings by Boucher at Waddesdon, and she displayed this one in the West Hall, alongside another painting of 3 putti. Boucher embodied the douceur de vivre (the sweetness of life) which drew the Rothschilds to ancien régime France and its art. Alice’s brother Ferdinand owned Boucher’s magnificent full-length portrait of Madame de Pompadour, mistress to Louis XV, that is now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, which he displayed in his London house and left to his brother, Nathaniel (1836-1905).
Since the receipt of Alice’s purchase identifies both the sitter and artist, Alice must have had knowledge of these interesting historic figures. Another version of this portrait was purchased by Count Moïse de Camondo (1860-1935) in 1914 from Wildenstein in Paris and is now in the Musée Nissim de Camondo, his townhouse that he gave to the city of Paris in memory of his son, Nissim, who was killed in World War I
Alice’s inheritance of Waddesdon in 1898 included one of the greatest collections of Sèvres Rococo vases assembled by one man. However, this cuvette Mahon was one of Alice’s purchases, joining a green ground version that Ferdinand had acquired. The outlandishly curvy shape of the vase, resting on scrolled feet that look as though they might skitter off at any moment, makes this object one of the most joyful expressions of French Rococo art. It came from an important Parision collection that was sold in 1907, where it was bought by the dealer Julius Goldschmidt, who sold it to Alice in London eight days later. By the early 1900s, sale catalogues could be lavishly illustrated, so it is quite possible Alice saw the picture of it and decided to buy it in advance.
This clock is a confection, of a type that became common in the nineteenth century. With a genuinely eighteenth-century object at its core – the Sèvres bulb pot painted with cupids - a relatively modest object becomes the basis of a much grander assemblage, in this case a clock. With the addition of gilt-bronze mounts, and the clock and its movement, the bulb pot, which served as a receptacle for growing a single bulb in water or earth, becomes part of a noble architectural pedestal. Lots of ceramic objects have been subject to such changes over their lifetimes – sugar bowls can become potpourris and chamber pots can become vases, and for the same reason that decoration may be added later – enhancing an object to increase its value.
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957. 1922 probate no: W1/29/2, acc no: 2519. Purchased by Alice from Charles Davis, at the same time as a painting and a print for £770, on 27 July 1908.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory; painted by Claude Couturier (d.1775) and Jean-Baptiste Tandart l'aîné (1729-1816)
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957.
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Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957. 1922 probate no: W1/68/5, acc no: 2534. Purchased by Alice from Charles Davis on 28 July 1913 for £600.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory Perfume burner (and egg-coddler?) 1760 soft-paste porcelain and gilt bronze Sèvres, France
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory; possibly painted by Jean-Louis Morin Planter(1732-1787)(‘ cuvette Mahon’) 1757-1760 soft-paste porcelain Sèvres, France
Sold at a Christie’s sale (‘property of a Nobleman’ 18 March 1910) to Charles Davis, from whom presumably Alice purchased them.
Pair of candlesticks 1774 (and possibly later) soft-paste porcelain and gilt bronze Sèvres, France
These candlesticks are of a rare type made at the Sèvres manufactory in the 1760 and 1770s. It has been suggested that they were decorated in the nineteenth century, but they do bear eighteenth-century marks identifying the painters. Old Sèvres was in such high demand in the late 1800s that genuine eighteenth-century objects often had more decoration added, to make them appear more luxurious, and thus able to be sold at a higher price to keen collectors. Alice displayed these in her Red Sitting Room.
1922 probate no: W1/8/8, acc no: 2899.
This curious object is a great rarity in Sèvres porcelain, and was used either to burn pastilles of perfume or to cook a single egg! There are only six of them known in the world and two of them have a hen with her chicks on the top (for example in the Wallace Collection), making reference to their surprising dual function. Alice bought this from Charles Davis, but it came from the collection of her cousin, Caroline Blanche, Lady Lindsay (1844-1912), who was from the English branch of the Rothschild family. Blanche was influential in the art world and co-founded the Grosvenor Gallery with her husband, where artists such as Edward Burne-Jones and Walter Crane sold their work. However, she had a substantial collection of eighteenth-century French objects that were sold after her death in 1912.
These three vases were purchased as a set by Alice for the enormous sum of £13500 in 1906, and yet they are not a set at all. They are the same shape, the same colour, and decorated with scenes by the same painter, but they have marks that indicate they were made in three different years (sets of vases were generally made all at the same time). The three were cleverly united by the dealer Charles Davis, whom Alice trusted to arrange her porcelain. They look magnificent when displayed together and show that Alice was keen to continue adding to the collections at Waddesdon, and that Sèvres porcelain proved as irresistable to her as it did to most Rothschilds. She displayed them in her Red Sitting Room, a part-recreation of which can be seen at the other end of the house.
1922 probate no: W2/41/3, acc no: 2276, 2275, 2277.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory and others
Purchased by Alice from Charles Davis, as a set for £13500, on 28 July 1906.
Clock 1758 and later gilt bronze, soft-paste porcelain, enamel, glass and metal Sèvres, France
Purchased by Alice from J&S Goldschmidt, London, for £3200, on 5 June 1907.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory; painted by Jean-Louis Morin Three(1732-1787)vases (‘vases à bâtons rompus’) 1766, c. 1764 and 1767 soft-paste porcelain Vincennes, Paris, France
Pair of vases and covers 1763 soft-paste porcelain Sèvres, France
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Her goat had been as faithless as her lover; and she had got a little dog in lieu of him, which she had kept tied by a string to her girdle: as I looked at her dog, she drew him towards her with the string. — “Thou shalt not leave me, Sylvio,” said she.’
Purchased by Alice from P &D Colnaghi for £800, receipt dated May 24 1905.
John Russell (1745-1806) Sarah Dore, Mrs William Garrow 1798 Englandpastel
John Russell (1745-1806)
Alice de Rothschild not only collected porcelain decorated with birds, but the aviary at Waddesdon, built by her brother, was full of real birds during her lifetime, as it is today. An article of 1905 describes all the species she kept, amongst them her two favourites ‘Jacko’ the Hyacinth Macaw, and Polly the Red Macaw. She visited the aviaries twice a day when at Waddesdon, and took the birds their meals on ‘a fancy wicker tray’. The Alexandrine Parakeets, in particular, returned her affections, as recounted by the article’s author: ‘it is astonishing to see how well the young birds know their mistress and pleasant to watch their glee when her voice proclaims her approach’
The dealer Charles Davis came for lunch at Waddesdon Manor on the 25th May 1907, and seems to have either brought these vases with him to show Alice or convinced her to buy them then, for the receipt for them is dated the same day.
Purchased by Alice, probably between 1906 and 1910.
Pastels are drawn using pastel crayons, pure powdered pigment mixed with a binder, such as gum arabic.
The Rothschilds obsessively collected Sèvres porcelain and Alice was no exception. An article from 1885 published in Paris recounts that ‘Miss Alice, Alfred and Ferdinand de Rothschild hunt tirelessly in the great dealers’ shops of Bond Street, such as Wertheimer or Durlacher, for what still can be found of the precious remnants of the past glories of our Royal manufactory’. These vases were painted by Louis-Denis Armand whose fanciful and dramatic birds Alice evidently greatly enjoyed, acquiring no fewer than nine of the vases painted by him that remain in the collections at Waddesdon.
‘
SÈVRES BIRD CASE SOUTH WALL
Bequest of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1957.
John Russell was the most prolific pastellist in Britain, working mostly for the wealthy middle classes. He was named Crayon Painter to the Prince of Wales in 1785 and later Painter to the King in 1790. At the height of his career, he was charging similar prices to Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), with as much as £150 for large group portraits.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963. 1922 probate no: W2/22/3, acc no: 3437.
This is a portrait of a fictional character from Laurence Sterne’s novel A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, first published in 1768. In it, the narrator encounters a melancholic shepherdess, Maria, who in her sorrow over the death of her lover, comes to represent the sentimental embodiment of grief.
Alice acquired a number of British pastels in the beginning of the 20th century, and displayed them in her newly created Red Sitting Room. The section dedicated to her sitting room in her Catalogue of Principal Pictures…(1906) begins with ‘English Pastels’ and lists six works by Gardner, Hamilton and Russell, including this portrait. Russell became increasingly fashionable at this time following an exhibition and catalogue of his works in 1894. His work started to appear on the art market more frequently, with dealers such as Charles and Asher Wertheimer becoming particularly enthusiastic sellers.
1922 probate no: W2/33/9, acc no: 3442.
Maria c. 1770-c. 1800
Vincennes Porcelain Manufactory; painted by Louis Denis Armand l'aîné (active 1746-1788)
Pair of vases (vases à oreilles) 1756 soft-paste porcelain Vincennes, Paris, France
1922 probate no: W1/19/6, acc no: 2272.1.
Louis Roucel (d. 1787); Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory; painted by Louis Denis Armand l'aîné (active 1746-1788) after JeanJacques Bachelier (1724-1806)
Snuff-box 1772-1773 (metalwork); 1758 (porcelain plaques) gold and soft-paste porcelain Paris and Sèvres, France
Englandpastel
1922 probate no: W2/29/6, acc no: 3438.
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory; painted by Louis Denis Armand l'aîné (active 1746-1788)
Mrs Ann Eidingtoun (née Weller) 1793
1922 probate no: W1/49/5, acc no: 676. Purchased by Alice from Julius Goldschmidt, for £1475, on 12 June 1904.
Englandpastel
This portrait of Ann Eidingtoun was originally commissioned as a pendant with a portrait of her husband Lieutenant-Colonel James Eidingtoun (d.1800) of Gargunnock, of the East India Company, Adjutant-General of Madras. The palm trees in the landscape most likely depict this connection to India. The portrait was for a short time in the collection of Sir Richard Wallace (1818-1890) before it was purchased by P & D Colnaghi & Company and later sold to Alice between 1900 and 1906. It is the first English pastel listed in the Red Sitting Room in Alice’s Catalogue of 1906
John Russell (1745-1806)
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Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
1922 probate no: W1/19/5, acc no: 2396.1-2. Purchased by Alice from Charles Davis, for £3250, on 25 May 1907.
When Alice bought this box in 1904, neither she nor the dealer from whom she bought it, Goldschmidt, knew that the plaques had been painted specially for Madame de Pompadour (1721-64), the mistress of Louis XV (1710-74). Like Alice, Madame de Pompadour was fiercely intelligent and loved flora and fauna, and this snuffbox depicts two of her dogs, Bébé and Mimi, and several of the birds she also kept in aviaries. It is tempting to think that the subsequent discovery of this box’s history would have delighted Alice.
It came from the postmortem sale of the Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904), who was a grandson of George III, where it was purchased by the Frankfurt-born dealer, Julius Goldschmidt, who had shops in Frankfurt, Paris and London. He wrote his receipts for Alice in their mother tongue.
Sterne’s novel was a success with numerous illustrated editions, the image of Maria and her dog became extremely popular in print and in paintings. The artist Angelica Kauffman’s portrait of Maria (1777) was widely circulated in print form. Even the Wedgwood ceramics manufactory reproduced her image on a number of their wares, including a cameo.
Purchased by P & D Colnaghi & Company on behalf of Alice from a Christie’s sale, 2 July 1909 (Lot No 33) for £504.0.0. with a 5% commission.
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957.
1922 probate no: W1/52/4, acc no: 315.1997. Purchased by Alice from J &S Goldschmidt for £2400, receipt dated 8 May 1910.
1922 probate no: W1/45/3e, acc no: 2656. Purchased by Alice from J &S Goldschmidt, receipt dated 24 May 1906.
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957.
Stéphanie-Félicité de Genlis (1746-1830)
This miniature depicting the French Queen Marie-Antoinette (1755-93) and her two eldest children, Marie-Thérèse (1778-1851) and Louis Joseph (1781-89) was purchased by Alice de Rothschild for the significant amount of £2500, making it one of her more expensive purchases among the surviving receipts, and reflects the popularity of this kind of miniature gouache (a form of opaque watercolour) painting at the time. There are a number of portraits of the queen by Dumont as well as other members of the royal family, including another similar family portrait, believed to have been given to her as a gift from her husband King Louis XVI (now in the Louvre Museum in RothschildParis).
Niclas Lafrensen, the Younger (1737-1807) Miniature portrait of a woman c. 1780s parchment, watercolour, silver gilt and rose diamonds Paris, France
Mademoiselle de La Fayette, ou Le siècle de Louis XIII. The author’s autograph manuscript. Paris 1812 [1795] Late 18th Century leather, watercolour, gold tooling, ink, paper France
Francegouache
Louis Nicolas and his son Henri Joseph van Blarenberghe often collaborated together and specialised in miniature paintings in gouache for snuff boxes, rings or other objets de vertu – luxury items that were highly sought after within both the French court and the art market in Paris during the 18th century. Alice purchased this ring from J&S Goldschmidt in May 1906 and she also lists it in her first Catalogue also dated 1906. The catalogue must therefore have been completed sometime between May and December 1906. The ring is described and listed in the Tower Drawing Room, with additional provenance information, ‘from the family of M. de Steuers at Brussels’. This information is not mentioned on the receipt but Julius Goldschmidt must have told her about it when she made the purchase. The Rothschilds in general were keen collectors of the van Blarenberghes’ work, and Alice also bought many gold boxes decorated with their Bequestminiatures.ofJamesde
a d b c ab dc CASEMINIATURES a l i c e deroth s child18471 9 22 col l e ctor a d sch i l d 1 47 192
François Dumont (1751-1831)
This portfolio not only features a portrait miniature of the writer and educator Madame de Genlis but also contains a manuscript copy of one of her books in her own hand, along with a watercolour sketch associated with another of her works, Les chevaliers de Cygne (1795). Alice left a note inside describing the portfolio as a gift from the author to her friend the General Count Kossakowski. Her Catalogue (1906 and 1910) adds yet more information, stating that the portfolio with its contents came from a descendant of the General.
This picture depicts an elegantly dressed lady in a fashionable interior. She holds a letter in her lap while looking longingly at a miniature in her hand, turning this into a miniature about miniatures, advertising their power to bring loved ones closer together with their intimate and delicate qualities. The stereoscopic autochromes Alice commissioned around 1910 show how she displayed her collection of 18th-century portrait and genre miniatures in the Tower Drawing Room, with some in gilt vitrines and others in front of her garnitures of Sèvres porcelain vases.
1922 probate no: W1/31/5, acc no: 3938.
Marie Antoinette with her two eldest children 1781-1783
Family 1922 probate no: W1/52/1, acc no: 30.2007.
Attributed to Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe (1716-1794) or Henri Joseph van Blarenberghe (1741-1826) Ring c. 1775-1790 gold, diamonds and gouache Paris, France
Rothschild, 1957.
Purchased by Alice from J &S Goldschmidt for £2500, receipt dated 26 May 1914.
Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765)
i l d 1847 1922
Attributed to William Marlow (1740-1813)
This painting depicts the festivities on the Piazza Colonna in Rome during the Carnival of 1735. In the foreground are a group of resident art students of the French Academy in Rome dressed in Chinese-style costumes on a float. The painting is dated to almost 20 years after the event took place; it may have been commissioned as a souvenir, possibly based on contemporary prints or published accounts of the Thisevent.painting was at Alice’s Villa Victoria in Grasse at the time of her death and was inherited by her cousin Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1935). It was looted by the Nazis in France and was returned to his heirs in 1945. In her Villa Victoria, Alice had a number of paintings of Italian cityscapes, including at least three views of Venice by Francesco Guardi.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963 1922 probate no: Gr.81, acc no: 549.
Capriccio of Roman Ruins with an Apostle Preaching and Capriccio of Roman Ruins with the Arch of Constantine c. 1745- c. 1755 oil on canvas Italy
This painting was in Alice’s Villa Victoria in Grasse at the time of her death and inherited by her cousin Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Very little is known about the interiors or her collection of art there except for a few pages from an inventory of paintings, prints and drawings, and a collection of pipes and matchboxes, later given to the city of Grasse by Baron Edmond. According to the lists, her paintings in Grasse were mostly 18th -century portraits, genre scenes and landscapes from the English, French, Italian and Dutch schools. Other British landscapes included a George Chambers (1803-40) view of Whitby fishing port and a Samuel Scott (1702-72) view of BequestPortsmouth.ofDorothy
de Rothschild, 1988. 1922 probate no: GAA/26, acc no: 788. othsch
The North Terrace of Windsor Castle with Eton College in the Distance c. 1780 oil on London,canvasEngland
Jacob Van Lint (1723-1790); previously attributed to Hendrik Frans Van Lint (1684-1763)
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The Chinese Masquerade on the Piazza Colonna in Rome during the Giacomo Carnival 1735 1752 oil on Rome,canvasItaly
Alice acquired this pair from P&D Colnaghi in May 1909, at the same time that she also purchased views of London and Paris and a portrait of Queen Anne of Denmark. In 1922, at the time of her death, the paintings were displayed in the Bachelors’ Wing Corridor.
1922 probate no: W2/1/4, acc no: 25.2011.1-2. Purchased by Alice from P&D Colnaghi for £50, and for washing and repairing the two frames, £1.1.0, receipt dated May 12 1909.
Panini was one of the most popular and prolific Roman painters of his time, specialising in real and fantastical views of Rome. He taught perspective at the French Academy in Rome, influencing younger French artists such as Hubert Robert. His popularity also extended to British tourists on their grand tours of Italy, his paintings were perfect souvenirs of their time spent in Rome and a great many ended up in country houses, galleries and in the art market by the 19th century.
This painting appears in Alice’s Catalogue of 1910 and was recorded as being displayed in the Bedroom Corridor at the Manor. It depicts an unknown elegantly dressed woman and young boy seated by a window. Netscher is renowned for his depictions of sitters against sumptuous backgrounds which often include sculptures and fountains, and symbolic objects. The pomegranate decorating the stone wall on the left is a symbol of chastity, whilst the roses held by the pair signify love. Such general symbols were often used in female portraits making the identification of individual sitters difficult.
Rothschild Family 1922 probate no: E1/1/7, acc no: 23.2022.1-18.
Spanish CostanzaSchooldeMontcada, Viscountess of Marcana and the Infante Don Alfonso of Aragon and Costanza de Montcada and Diego López III de Haro 1650-1675 oil on copper Spain
Gift of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1971. 1922 probate no: E1/4/4, acc no: 3991.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Alice displayed them in her Hall at Eythrope, along with most of the other objects in this room. We do not know how she arranged the room, so this is an evocation rather than a recreation.
1922 probate no: W2/15/3, acc no: 8087. Probably purchased by Alice between 1906-1910.
Before Adriaen van der Werff’s signature was discovered, the painting was attributed to the artist Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635-81), a prestigious artist trained by Rembrandt. It has been suggested that the work probably had a pair, a corresponding portrait of a shepherdess.
18 profile portraits probably
The Hague, Netherlands
1922 probate no: E1/1/2, acc no: 8071 and 8070. Purchased by Alice before 1922.
These two paintings show a seventeenth-century reimagining of thirteenth-century Spanish heiresses of the house of Montcada and their husbands, Viscounts of Béarn, identified by the Spanish inscriptions at their feet. Although both ladies have the same name, they are actually aunt and niece. The works are in a Spanish-Flemish style and their probable dates correspond with the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands. They are probably from a series of fictional historical portraits designed for the decoration of a small room, an interesting contrast to the majority of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century paintings collected by Alice which were originally religious objects. During the seventeenth century much of the art production in Catholic Europe was shaped by the agenda of the Counter-Reformation with Spain being no exception. The Spanish Baroque developed a distinctively restrained and severe aesthetic, largely shunning the opulence of what was happening in other countries such as is illustrated by the Flemish examples on the opposite wall.
Adriaen Van Der Werff (1659-1722) A Sportsman with a Gun 1670s oil on Rotterdam,panel Netherlands
A Lady Seated before a Window, with a Young Boy 1675 oil on canvas
Dish tin-glazed1657 earthenware London, England
This small Baroque painting depicts a hunter posing in a fanciful costume as he takes time out of his sporting pursuits. Hunting as a pastime was enjoyed by the Rothschilds, like many other landowning families, and Alice was a keen horsewoman. Waddesdon was one of several Rothschild properties in Buckinghamshire, with different members of the family buying country homes nearby so they could enjoy one another’s estates. Alice’s sketch book is on display in the Family Room and contains drawings of hunting scenes and sporting activities.
This dish must have been a symbol of the owner’s royalist sympathies during the Commonwealth (1649-1660), when England and Wales, and later Scotland and Ireland, were a Republic. It bears the date 1657, but Charles I (1600-1649) was executed in 1649. There was continued political opposition to Oliver Cromwell, and in 1657 a pamphlet was published called ‘Killing No Murder’ which advocated his assasination, justified morally with reference to his tyranny. Alice displayed the dish high on the wall of the Hall at Eythrope (we know this because the probate inventory states that the value is approximate because it is out of reach), with the three slipware dishes below, all of which also display allegience to the Crown.
EXHIBITION CORRIDOR
Caspar Netscher (1639-1684)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1963.
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957. 1922 probate no: W1/57/5, acc no: 2155. Purchased by Alice before 1922.
Italytempera19th-centuryonpanel
These extraordinary portraits were made to adorn a cornice of a coved ceiling, hence their curved form. They are probably intended to resemble portraits by Pisanello (born by 1395-c.1455), a renowned Early Renaissance artist in whom there was renewed interest in the 19th century. They are very roughly hewn on their backs, a technique that forgers often used to suggest an object was old, and made by hand rather than machine. The portraits also repeat, with one occurring five times. They are painted using egg tempera, in which egg yolk is used as a binding agent for pigments, which was used before oil paint became more popular and displaced it.
Dish with figure of the Duke of York c. lead-glazed1680 Staffordshire,earthenwareEngland
Thomas Toft (-1689)
Thomas Toft (active 1663-1689)
Toft’s chargers are decorated using slip (liquid clay) which is trailed to create the patterns and images, much like decorating a cake. Many of Toft’s dishes were intended to proclaim Royalist affiliations, with subjects such as the Royal Arms, Prince Charles hiding in the Boscobel oak, portraits of Charles II, Catherine of Braganza (16381705) and cavaliers. Toft also depicted religious subjects, such as the Temptation of Adam and Eve, and the Pelican in her Piety (symbolising the Passion of Christ).
16th-centurywoodSpain
The potter and writer Louis Mark Solon sums up how they were viewed: ‘you are welcome to laugh at the grotesque performance of the jolly and funny old potter; the dish was never intended for aught but to induce a gentle merriment. Do not forget that the maker never anticipated that he was working for you or me, the sensitive and squeamish children of a refined century, and that he might one day have to undergo our criticism’. Louis Solon, The Art of the Old English Potter, 1886.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990. 1922 probate no: E1/4/2, acc no: 3800.
Dish with figures of a King and Queen ( William and Mary) c. 1680 lead-glazed Staffordshire,earthenwareEngland
William Talor (active 1650-1700)
1922 probate no: E1/4/2, acc no: 3803.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
Although Thomas Toft is the best known of the Staffordshire potters making large slipware charges, a number of other potters also signed dishes. The couple here may represent William and Mary or a courtier and lady, but as the great slipware expert Ronald Cooper observed ‘the ballet like figures looking so surprised appear suspended in mid air’.
Spanish School
Rothschild Family
Relics are the physical remains of saints, which are venerated as holy. They are often housed in reliquaries, which is the purpose these two busts may have served. They were sometimes known as ‘chefs’ which in French denoted ‘head’. They would have generally been kept in churches. These busts no longer contain any relics, but they do have a hollowed out space at the back where a casket could have sat. Alice displayed them in the Hall at Eythrope
This cheerfully charismatic lion may possibly originally been part of a fountain, or cistern, as the circular hole in his grin suggests a missing tap. It was inventoried at the Farm at Eythrope in 1922 in a subsection called ‘Statuary belonging to Garden’ which implies objects were either stored there when Alice was away (she was on her way back from Grasse when she died) or that the gardens at Eythrope were less decorated after she inherited Waddesdon.
Alice had very wide-ranging tastes in ceramics. The most usual type bought by the many members of the Rothschild family were refined porcelains – either European (particularly Sèvres and Meissen) or Chinese or Japanese, with Alice’s French cousins also sharing her taste for maiolica (Italian Renaissance earthenware). Alice, however, branched out into early English pottery, Dutch delftware plaques and even Hungarian pottery (on view in the Manor Restaurant). Her ceramic collecting also seems to be motivated by her interest in social and political history, in the same way that her brother Ferdinand collected prints to illustrate the history of eigtheenth-century France.
Figure of a Lion 17th-century lead-glazed earthenware Germany
1922 probate no: E1/2/2, acc no: 1.2022.1 and 2.
Dish with arms of Charles II c. 1680 lead-glazed Staffordshire,earthenwareEngland
1922 probate no: E1/4/2, acc no: 3801.
Not much is known about the Staffordshire potter, Thomas Toft, by whom around 30 signed dishes are known. His large chargers were probably intended to be hung on a wall as decoration and are prominently signed to serve as advertisements. They were first acquired by museums and collectors as interesting examples of every day pottery, but in the late nineteenth century started to be appreciated as folk art.
Gift of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1971. 1922 probate no: E2/65/5, acc no: 7397.
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
This dish depicts the Duke of York, later James II (1633-1701), who was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 after being on the throne for only 3 years.
This dish is decorated with the Royal Arms, crest and supporters (lion and unicorn), and the cypher of Charles II (1630-85). Seven dishes by Thomas Toft have this decoration, but only this one and one in the Nelson Atkins museum in Kansas, have the correct, more complex, arms. It has been suggested that Waddesdon’s charger was the first to be made in the group. It was fired in the kiln vertically and has partly collapsed and warped, owing to its enormous weight.
Two busts of women, possibly reliquaries
Parade armours were made for show, rather than battle, and were decorated accordingly. The steel was heated to create a blue-ish background against which the embossed, gilded ornament would glow.
These cowters come from a parade armour also made for the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, called the Mask Garniture, and like the helmet, also illustrated in the Inventario Illuminado, most of which is still in the Royal Armouries in Madrid. Designed as part of a light-weight armour for use on horseback, they were worn over mail sleeves and attached to shoulder defences using the straps. The Negroli brothers worked in Milan, a centre of armour production, and pioneered decorative techniques such as damascening, using gold and silver wire inlaid into the steel.
steel,1539 gold, silver and leather Milan, Italy
Their prestigious history made them very attractive to 19th-century collectors. Alice acquired them from the famous Baron de Cosson collection, at around the same time as the helmet in the same case, and also from Sir Guy Laking.
bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957.
Attributed to Obadiah Sheratt A tiger killing Munrow (active 1815-46) lead-glazed Staffordshire,earthenwareEngland
Attributed to Caremolo Modrone (1489-1543)Paradehelmet (Burgonet) c. steel,1534gold, wood Mantua, Italy
a l i c e deroth s child18471 9 22 col l e ctor a l i ce de r othsch i l d 1847 - 1922
Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957.
This highly decorated helmet is part of a parade armour made for Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1534, by one of the most prestigious Mantuan makers. Alice included it in her Catalogue of 1910, where she mentions its appearance in the 'Inventario Illuminado', the inventory of the royal armouries in Madrid, made in 1544. It came via Sir Guy Laking, who was advising Alice’s purchases, and is one of the stars of her collection, along with the elbow pieces also in this case. It was acquired when Alice was assembling Renaissance arms and armour for display in the Bachelors’ Wing between 1908 and 1910.
It was inventoried at the Farm at Eythrope in 1922 with other pottery, suggesting the farm may have been part of the visitor route taken by Alice’s guests as a rustic location for admiring objects. Ferdinand’s Dairy at the Manor, also part of weekend guests’ visits, had a ‘Curio Room’, full of Staffordshire bear jugs, carvings and furniture made out of antlers, and the Farm at Eythrope may have served a similar purpose with its combination of pottery, wooden stag heads, and carved wooden brackets with animals on top Rothschild Family 1922 probate no: E2/50/3c, acc no: 17.2022.
1922 probate no: W1/97/1, acc no: 3461. Bought by Alice from Sir Guy Laking after 1906 and before 1910 for an unknown sum.
1922 probate no: W1/97/2, acc no: 5096.1-2. Bought by Alice from Sir Guy Laking after 1906 and before 1910 for an unknown sum.
Filippo Negroli (c. 1510-1579) and Francesco Negroli (c. Pair1522-1600)ofElbow-piece (cowters)
Hugh Munro was a British soldier who was killed by a tiger when he went deer-hunting in the forests on Saugur Island, off the coast of Kolkata, India, in 1791. Another depiction of a soldier being killed by a tiger is the fabulous almost life-size wooden automaton known as Tipu’s Tiger, now in the V&A. Tipu Sultan (1751-1799), ruler of Mysore was known as the Tiger of Mysore and adopted the animal as his symbol. When he was defeated by the British, his possessions were looted, and Tipu’s Tiger came to the East India Museum in London, where it became hugely popular. The potter was probably inspired by this famous object.
After Master of Frankfurt, Saint Catherine of Alexandria c 1510-1520; oil on panel Purchased by Alice for £131.5s from Henry G. Bohn on 21st March 1885
