Sir John Soane's hidden treasures

Lisa Figueroa
Mar 3, 2019
5 min read

Museums provide places of relaxation and inspiration. And most importantly, they are a place of authenticity. We live in a world of reproductions – the objects in museums are real. It's a way to get away from the overload of digital technology.

Thomas P. Campbell

I’ve probably mentioned this before however, one of the joys of living in London is the fact you have access to some of the best galleries and museums in the world, paradoxically most Londoners don’t actually visit what’s on their doorstep. I was chatting to a friend in a coffee shop the other day, she’d lived in London for twenty-four years and had NEVER visited the Victoria and Albert museum or the National Portrait Gallery!

Personally, I LOVE museums, I don’t go every week but I do visit more than many of my friends it would appear! There are loads of museums in London and most visitors make a bee line for places like the afore said V&A or the British Museum, both wonderful places that you’d never get around in a single day. I’m going to let you into a little secret, there’s a very elegant Regency town house just around the corner from Holborn tube station, you can’t miss it, it’s the only one in the street with a white stone façade and two resplendent Greco Roman statues perched above the first floor looking out over Lincoln’s Inn Fields. From the outside it looks like many other swish London homes however, behind the white Norfolk stone façade is the most eclectic, the most intricate and the most complex and ingenious set of interiors and objects that were ever brought together in a single spot! The dimly lit rooms, antique fragments, prints, pictures, drawings, and books are quite simply a treasure trove of artistic antiquity. The home was built and belonged to Sir John Soane, an architect of global repute who was responsible for some of London’s most iconic buildings such as the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery. Like many gentlemen of the time he did the “Grand Tour”, a tour that for many involved bringing back the odd piece of ancient pottery or a pretty neoclassical painting, not Sir John! As an architect he saw inspiration in everything and subsequently, by the end of his tour he had started his eccentric collection in earnest! Over the years he continued to collect and collect and collect! Sir John was not only a great architect, he loved to share his passion and lectured at the Royal Academy. In 1833, he negotiated an Act of Parliament: to preserve his house and collection, exactly as it would be at the time of his death – and to keep it open and free for inspiration and education. Fast forward to today and his home is now the most wonderful museum and actually one of my favourites. Inside the museum, you will come across Roman Busts, Greek vases, massive Egyptian Sarcophagus, 18th-century statues, cinerary urns Napoleonic memorabilia and mesmerising watercolour paintings from inconsequential artists next to epic oil paintings by some of the most famous artists of the day. Masterpieces from Turner, Canaletto, Watteau and Hogarth adorn the walls, of which my favourite is “A Rakes Progress”, a series of eight paintings by Hogarth that tells the story of Tom Rakewell, a fictional character who inherits a fortune from his miserly father – but then follows a path to vice and destruction.

The museum however isn’t an art gallery, but rather it’s the eclectic mix of artistic expression through the centuries spread throughout the gloomy subterranean vaults and double height spaces. Honestly, it’s virtually impossible to describe the beauty and eccentricity of the collection and I don’t have the literary gymnastics in order to even attempt to! A word of caution, I remember visiting several years ago and simply walking in off the street however, this little gem is now becoming quite popular. Getting yourself a ticket to the museum isn’t easy as there are only 70 visitors allowed in a day. My advice would be to get there early, Wednesday to Sunday and be prepared to queue. If you’re lucky enough to get in don’t miss some of the famous places in the house that you HAVE to visit for sure like the Colonnade, Dome Area and Museum Corridor. The picture gallery is made of walls that are ingeniously moveable which allows for the place to keep three times the items that a normal place would have accommodated, clever bloke that John Soane! The Museum has a total of thirteen rooms that were used for domestic purposes. The Breakfast Room has convex mirrors which create a bizarre perspective that would make even the dourest person smile! There is a vast collection of objects that, even back in the day would have been extremely expensive. For example he acquired the sarcophagus of Ramesses’ father, Seti the first from the great Italian explorer and archaeologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni for £2000 on the 12 May 1824. Other antiques include Roman and Greek bronzes, cinerary urns and small statutes and artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum, there’s even a few remnants of Greek Mosaics and vases. The museum also has the most beautiful miniature copy of the statue of Diana of Ephesus you will have seen it, The Lady of Ephesus is always represented with multiple breasts and was a potent symbol of fertility. Other important pieces include The Apollo of the Belvedere, the Roman Goddess, Sulis Minerva and the instantly recognisable, Aphrodite of Cnidus. As well as the Rakes Progress, there are some fabulous, masterpieces such as, The Forum Romanum by J.M.W Turner, The View in Venice, on the Grand Canal by Canaletto and The Snake in the Grass; or Love unloosing the zone of Beauty by Joshua Reynolds. Honestly, if I carried on, we’d be here all day!