Hughenden Manor and its contents were given to the National Trust by the Disraelian Society in 1937, the house having already assumed the character of a museum in Disraeli's memory.

The collection now consists partly of Disraeli's own furnishings, pictures, and sculpture, and partly of memorabilia that have subsequently been given to the house. Given to Benjamin Disraeli by a friend, this gift reflected Disraeli's almost exclusively Italian taste in sculpture. The powerfully modelled heads were probably carved for a frieze in the Palazzo Grimani, Venice (demolished in1820). These reliefs are five from a probable original total of sixteen or more, probably intended as facial expressions of different states of mind.

Provenance

Palazzo Grimani, Venice; Given to B.Disraeli by Sir Philip Rose Bt; Disraeli sale, Christie's 1881; Park Place, Remenham Hill, Henley; Mallams, Oxford, 4/10/89, lot 345; with Agnew's.


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