Soane’s Secret Grotto
John Soane’s Museum
John Soane was a Neo-Classical architect who served as a professor at the Royal Academy and official architect to the Office of Works (responsible for the construction and maintenance of royal castles and residences).
His museum is located on the site of two of the three homes that Soane purchased in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, acquired between 1792 and 1823. They are preserved as he inhabited them, as was stipulated in the Act that established the museum back in 1833 (though it only came into effect upon Soane’s death in 1837).
The collection at the John Soane’s Museum is a veritable compilation of spoils, including the Sarcophagus of Seti I (discovered by Giovanni Belzoni, who worked extensively with Henry Salt to questionably procure much of the collection at the British Museum), Greek and Roman bronzes, fragments of mosaics and sculptures, vases, busts, and pieces of architectural details. The collection also includes more modern works, such as paintings by Canaletto, Hogarth, and Turner.
It was Soane’s intention for his home to serve as a museum even when he was still alive, and he would often have guests over to visit his collection. Upon the acquisition of the sarcophagus of Seti I, for example, he hosted a soirée that lasted three days and received nearly 900 guests.
The museum website tries to make light of the absolute chaos that is the interior of this home, particularly the Sepulchral Chamber, as this room is called, along with its basement. It’s never quite clear whether a visitor is meant to go down a specific path, or if the space between the busts and sculptures is really much too narrow for a person to go through. It seems Soane often moved things around, placing objects in a specific order to create some sort of poetic quality through their juxtaposition. It all felt very… “Ariel’s Secret Grotto” to me, personally.
Gold Colored Fox 