Project overview

Project overview
With the original statues of Stowe now scattered due to the great auctions of Stowe House in 1921 and 1922, the National Trust has been seeking the return of originals or gain permission to have faithful replicas cast. National Trust Stowe enlisted the expertise of Cliveden Conservation to replicate the final two martial statues (The Gladiator and the Wrestlers) which would complete an important phase in their landscape programme.

Summary of the conservation work carried out
Cliveden Conservation Norfolk Workshop, which is renowned for its excellence in the conservation of historic plasterwork and specialist casting, was appointed to make the replica statues.

St Paul’s Walden Bury kindly gave permission for the workshop to loan their Borghese Gladiator statue. By using silicone rubber to produce a copy mould the team were able to capture every tiny detail. An existing mould of an original bronze Wrestlers statue at Blenheim Palace was also sourced which meant this statue could also be cast at the workshop.

Using a reconstituted stone mix blended with a unique formula, the Norfolk Workshop successfully cast both statues, reinforcing them with a stainless steel armature to act as a skeleton. The original Borghese Gladiator’s missing sword was carefully recreated using expert craftsmenship.

Both the Gladiator and Wrestlers statues were carefully transported and installed at National Trust Stowe. The conservation team then lime washed them in situ to match the other statuary in the garden.

Results
One hundred years on from their disappearance both statues are now back in the landscape along with Sampson and the Philistine, Hercules and Antaeus which have all been reinstated. The Wrestlers, which is thought to have been introduced to Stowe in the 1730s along with the other martial statues, is back in its rightful position within the Labyrinth looking out over Warden Hill Walk. The Gladiator is positioned in the Grecian Valley.