Three Sculptured Stelai in the Possession of Lord Newton at Lyme Park

Abstract

The recent Exhibition of works of Greek art held at the Burlington Fine Arts Club—although necessarily limited to comparatively small objects—has been sufficient to prove that the traditional wealth of our English collections of classical antiquities still remains a fact. The Exhibition, moreover, has had its use in eliciting information as to works of art on a larger scale, hitherto unknown and unrecorded, that had escaped the vigilance of Waagen and of Conze, of Michaelis and of Furtwängler, and even of our English archaeologists. Thus it was that when the Exhibition was little more than planned I learnt from the well known sculptor, Countess Feodora Gleichen, that there existed at Lyme Park, Lord Newton's Cheshire seat, three fine sculptured Stelai from the best period of Attic art. I am grateful to the owner for granting me permission to publish these inedited works in this Journal, which ought indeed to be the official gazette of the English collections. I have unfortunately been unable to avail myself as yet of Lord Newton's further permission to study the originals. But as photographs of the Stelai are now extant, I have thought it wiser not to postpone the publication for fear that it might be anticipated elsewhere. The information kindly given me by Lord Newton himself has facilitated the discussion and interpretation of the Stelai which, for the rest, are perfectly straightforward examples of their class.