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Fine brass & richly gilded : Van Nost's lost statue of General Lord Blakeney / by Charles Horton.

By: Publisher: [Castlepollard, Co.Westmeath] : Fidelis Publishing, 2018Description: 67 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour), map ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9781999671709
Other title:
  • Fine brass and richly gilded [Other title]
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 23 941.835
Summary: On St. Patrick's Day 1759, a large crowd had gathered in Sackville Street to witness the unveiling of a new statue for a national hero - the first of its type that would grace Dublin's grand thoroughfare. Little is known about this statue except that it was commissioned by an Irish fraternal society from the well known sculptor John Van Nost and that its subject was General Lord Blakeney, the hero of Minorca. The larger than life gilt-statue stood on its pedestal for precisely four years before it was unceremoniously brought down by persons unknown and its subsequent life appeared undocumented. What became of the statue, its pedestal and ornamental railings has indeed remained a mystery and although referred to occasionally in the press over the decades, little is known about its commission or its subsequent whereabouts. This study throws light on these events from when Van Nost first received his commission to the final reference to the statue in the 1780s. It will also consider some new interpretations on its composition, location and the confusion in nineteenth-century reports which have influenced modern sources.
List(s) this item appears in: New acquisitions 2018
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Loanable Book Library Irish Collection 941.835 HOR (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 000438909

Includes bibliographical references.

On St. Patrick's Day 1759, a large crowd had gathered in Sackville Street to witness the unveiling of a new statue for a national hero - the first of its type that would grace Dublin's grand thoroughfare. Little is known about this statue except that it was commissioned by an Irish fraternal society from the well known sculptor John Van Nost and that its subject was General Lord Blakeney, the hero of Minorca. The larger than life gilt-statue stood on its pedestal for precisely four years before it was unceremoniously brought down by persons unknown and its subsequent life appeared undocumented. What became of the statue, its pedestal and ornamental railings has indeed remained a mystery and although referred to occasionally in the press over the decades, little is known about its commission or its subsequent whereabouts. This study throws light on these events from when Van Nost first received his commission to the final reference to the statue in the 1780s. It will also consider some new interpretations on its composition, location and the confusion in nineteenth-century reports which have influenced modern sources.

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