Not currently on display at the V&A

Neptune

Statue
ca. 1702 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This statue representing Neptune is attributed to Claude David, made in England in ca. 1702. It was previously known as 'Time'.
The statue came to the museum from the garden of Alford house. This house was built in 1851 by M D Wyatt for Lady Marion Alford, sister-in-law of Earl Granville, Vice-President of the 1851 Commission, who was closely involved in the formation of the Museum. The house occupied the north-east corner of Wise's nurseries which was later renamed Ennismore Gardens. In August 1955, the building was declared to be demolished. The statue however appears to have come to the Museum prior to this date. The presence of the statue at the Museum is confirmed for the 1870ies through two photographs at the Museum on which the statue appears. The statue might have formerly been part of St. James Park together with another statue. The gardens were later redesigned by Henry Wise, and this may have resulted in the statues being moved to Wise's nurseries at Brompton Road.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleNeptune (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Marble
Brief description
Statue, marble, depicting Neptune, attributed to Claude David, probably made in England, about 1702
Physical description
Marble statue of Neptune. Neptune is represented as an elderly man with long flowing hair and beard. The muscular figure rests his weight on his slightly bent right leg with the left leg extended, bent before him. The axis of the body is in a serpentine line starting from the head and shoulders, which are curved to the right while the torso and hips swing to the left. The figure is draped with heavy swirling drapery which swoops up behind from the base, passes up over the right shoulder, and then swirls forward around from the back and over his left thigh, ending behind the knee. The marble appears to have been broken here and probably extended further.
Dimensions
  • Height: 177cm
Object history
The statue came to the museum from the garden of Alford house. This house was built in 1851 by M D Wyatt for Lady Marion Alford, sister-in-law of Earl Granville, Vice-President of the 1851 Commission, who was closely involved in the formation of the Museum. The house occupied the north-east corner of Wise's nurseries which was later renamed Ennismore Gardens. In August 1955, the building was declared to be demolished and rebuilt on the site of Alford House. The statue however appears to have come to the Museum prior to this date. The presence of the statue at the Museum is confirmed for the 1870ies through 2 photographs at the Museum on which the statue appears. The statue might have formerly been part of St. James Park together with another statue. The gardens were later redesigned by Henry Wise, and this may have resulted in the statues being moved to Wise's nurseries at Brompton Road.
Production
previously known as 'Time'
Subjects depicted
Summary
This statue representing Neptune is attributed to Claude David, made in England in ca. 1702. It was previously known as 'Time'.
The statue came to the museum from the garden of Alford house. This house was built in 1851 by M D Wyatt for Lady Marion Alford, sister-in-law of Earl Granville, Vice-President of the 1851 Commission, who was closely involved in the formation of the Museum. The house occupied the north-east corner of Wise's nurseries which was later renamed Ennismore Gardens. In August 1955, the building was declared to be demolished. The statue however appears to have come to the Museum prior to this date. The presence of the statue at the Museum is confirmed for the 1870ies through two photographs at the Museum on which the statue appears. The statue might have formerly been part of St. James Park together with another statue. The gardens were later redesigned by Henry Wise, and this may have resulted in the statues being moved to Wise's nurseries at Brompton Road.
Associated objects
    Bibliographic references
    • Malcolm, J P, London Redivium, 1807, IV, p. 242
    • Gunnis, R., Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, London, 1952
    • Baker, Malcolm, Figured in Marble. The Making and Viewing of Eighteenth-Century Sculpture, London, 2000, p. 29
    • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470-2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, p. 72, cat.no 96
    • Whinney, M. Sculpture in Britain 1530 to 1830, (revised by J. Physick), London, 1988 (second edition), p. 449, n. 15
    Collection
    Accession number
    A.3-1985

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    Record createdAugust 17, 2004
    Record URL
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