Blair Castle, walled garden. View of statue of Flora by John Cheere 1740. Digital image of PT 4414.

Description Blair Castle, walled garden. View of statue of Flora by John Cheere 1740. Digital image of PT 4414.

Date 1973

Catalogue Number SC 767258

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of PT 4414

Scope and Content Statue of 'Flora', Garden and Terrace, Blair Castle, Perth & Kinross This shows an elegant lead statue representing the ancient Italian goddess of flowers, 'Flora' made by sculptor John Cheere (1709-87). in 1740. She is shown as a young woman with her head and hips wreathed in garlands, and holding a small posy. A very similar statue representing 'Ceres', goddess of agriculture, stands nearby wearing a crown of corn. The maker of this sculpture, and many others still surviving at Blair, John Cheere, owned a yard near Hyde Park in London. He sent lead, marble and plaster sculptures ordered by James, 2nd Duke of Atholl to Scotland in specially made 'strong cases strongly brac'd in ye insides to keep ye statues from moveing' which could withstand transportation by boat. He also gave instructions on caring for each piece: 'once in two years it should be washt very clean and oil'd over with linseed oile'. Blair Castle, the seat of the Dukes of Atholl, was begun in 1269, extended in the 15th and 16th centuries, and remodelled to resemble a Georgian mansion by architect James Winter in the mid-1700s. The south-east wing was built in 1743-5, and rebuilt to include a clock tower to designs by architect Archibald Elliot in 1814 after a fire. The castle was 're-baronialised' to designs by architect David Bryce in 1869-71, who also designed the ballroom (1826-7). It was modified again in 1886 (J C Walker), 1904-5 (J McIntyre Henry) and 1920-1 (Sir Robert Lorimer). Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/767258

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap