Conservingandsecuring gardenstatuary '1n the case of priceless pieces, it may be considered worthwhile to have a replica made and keep the original in the house." This sound piece of advice seems almost unavoidable in a climate where garden statuary and sculpture, frequently of great age and works of art in their own right, can command high prices on the antiques market and may even be stolen to order. Yet, this sensible advice raises some thorny questions of conservation ethics, highlights the disparity and potential conflicts in the approach to building, garden and object conservation, even when they share the same setting, and points to a boundary where 'professionalism' might give way to pragmatism. This article focuses predominantly on the issues of and approaches to the conservation of garden sculpture, although 'statuary', including what might be called sculptural objects, such as vases, urns and sundials, are frequently found in gardens. Similarly, although many of the more important historic sculptural elements are in private gardens usually of the 'country house' type there are important collections in public parks, resonant of past civic pride, and there are new works in a range of public and private locations as well as the collections of funerary sculpture in historic cemeteries. Garden sculptures and statuary belong to the broader tradition of sculpture in general and many pieces could be equally effective in a suitable indoor setting. However, garden sculpture does have a number of characteristics which have accrued to it over time by virtue of its outdoor setting which need to be included in any conservation audit together with an assessment of the potential iconographical function of a piece or collection of pieces. Much garden sculpture and statuary may be purely ornamental, sometimes collected by successive generations of a family as large scale souvenirs of tours abroad. In other gardens the statues, ornamental features and buildContext 56 December 1997 ings may combine as part of a decorative scheme carrying messages of classical or political themes designed to be read and understood by the viewer. The iconography of the sculpture may be essential to the structure of a designed landscape and it is important that those responsible for its conservation should be able to read its development and understand its elements in the same way as a building is read. Stowe, created by Sir Richard Temple, Viscount Cobham, is perhaps the most famous garden landscape where statues, landform and structures are combined to publicise a specific political message. Now in the care of the National Trust, Stowe, still a sculpture packed garden, originally contained around 200 pieces many of which were sold off earlier this century. The section known as the Elysian fields, the design of William Kent, illustrates the thrust of the composition. The statue of Perseusat Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire, in its original position as part of a circuit designed to include a collection of statues. The figure is now almost dwarfed by the associated planting which has been allowed to grow over many decades. In the Elysian Fields, Cobham, by now a disaffected Whig railing against what he saw as a corrupt government, set up his gallery of British Worthies centring on King Alfred and including, among others, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Inigo Jones and William III to symbolise virtuous and incorrupt public service. The 'Worthies' stare across the valley to the Temple of Ancient Virtue opposite with figures representing law and philosophy. Originally the political message of the contrast between this incorruptible approach to politics and public life was given further emphasis by the juxtaposition of the Temple of Modern Virtue built as a ruin and carrying a headless representation of the incumbent Prime Minister, an effective, though expensive, comment on contemporary 'sleaze'. Today, a good working knowledge of political history is required to sympathise with the meaning of the garden even with the aid of the guide book. Even though Stowe is a grand and exceptional case it illustrates a number of common themes in the care and conservation of garden sculpture and statuary. An assessment of the setting is one of the vital first steps to understanding the specific role of statuary and sculpture in each individual garden. Once this is established the garden as a whole can be interpreted and explained and awareness of meaning should facilitate conservation intentions and decisions. Setting is important. Sometimes, as at Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire, for example, statues are positioned in a particular sequence to guide the viewer around a particular circuit. In other gardens a simple statue of Flora may be used to symbolise and celebrate the plenty of the harvest and the bounty of nature. Yet gardens, as is so often said, are not static nor indeed are the features within them. Ornamental features are moved, collections grow and fashions change. 47
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