February Issue 2000
Four Centuries of Decorative Arts at the Columbia Museum of Art
The Cecil Family Collects: Four Centuries of Decorative Arts from Burghley House is on view at the Columbia Museum of Art in downtown Columbia, SC, through Mar. 19. The Columbia Museum of Art is one of only six American museums to host this important exhibition. Burghley House is located in Lincolnshire, England and has been the home of the Cecil Family since 1577. It is the grandest Elizabethan house still inhabited by main line descendants of Sir William Cecil, the first Lord Burghley. Through approximately 120 exquisitely crafted works, the exhibition will document the evolution of taste and collecting in Britain over the course of four centuries, highlighting in particular the arts of the 17th century.
John Cecil, Fifth Earl of Exeter, (1648-1700), acquired most of the Burghley House collection during his four continental visits to Europe. His travels took him through France and into all parts of the Italian peninsula. One of the most exquisite pieces in the collection is a gift from Archduke Cosimo III of Tuscany. It is an ebony and gilt-wood cabinet with bone and mother-of-pearl marquetry, marble, and "pietra dure" panels. His collections were further enriched by his marriage to Lady Anne Cavendish, of Devonshire, who brought to the marriage her mother's jewelry, jeweled vessels, and miniatures, examples of which are included in the exhibition. Other objects include two Charles II silver sconces, Renaissance marbles, English furniture, Northern European ceramics, Italian majolica, silver gilt trophies, and Japanese and Chinese porcelain.
The Ninth Earl, Brownlow Cecil, came of age during the great period of the Grand Tour (1750-1800), when young English nobles toured the continent and returned with examples of fine and decorative arts. Brownlow acquired a number of fine objects, and also transformed Burghley House through the talents of the great Georgian architect Lancelot "Capability" Brown. In 1793, at the death of the Ninth Earl, Burghley House stood at the peak of its sumptuousness.
Remarkably, the contents of the house have remained virtually unchanged to the present day, making it one of the most intact collections in Britain. Because so few of the Burghley treasures have ever been seen beyond its walls, the many works remain little known except to knowledgeable connoisseurs.
This exhibition was organized by Art Services
International, Alexandria, VA. Support has been provided by an
indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Hummanities.
Serving as the Honorary Patron is His Excellency, Sir Christopher
Meyer, KCMG, Ambassador to the United States from the United Kingdom,
Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Wachovia Bank, N.A, is sponsoring
the Columbia presentation.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings
or call the musuem at 803/799-2810.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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