Collector
William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
1790–1858 · United Kingdom
The 6th Duke of Devonshire bought the bronze Apollo head from Tamassos in Smyrna in 1839; it is now in the British Museum as the Chatsworth Head.
Biography
The bronze head of Apollo known as the Chatsworth Head, found at Tamassos in 1836, belonged to William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858)1. It is the only Cypriot antiquity recorded in his hands.
The Duke reached Smyrna on 25 March 1839, and the British vice-consul, John Henry Charnaud, took him to the antiquarian Henry Perigal Borrell1. Borrell's handwritten receipt, preserved in the Chatsworth archives, lists seven objects sold for 15 pounds. The head is the first item and the only one from Cyprus. The Duke left Smyrna on 28 March and wrote in his diary of "my bargain of 7 curiosities"1. He did not deal with Cyprus directly: Borrell had himself bought the head from a Vondiziano of Larnaca1. Ulbrich and Kiely say Borrell sold the head a few years after 1836; the receipt and the diary date the Duke's purchase to March 18391,3.
In 1956 the British Museum acquired it from the then Duke of Devonshire in lieu of death duties2, and it is registered there as GR 1958,0418.11.
Life and work
- 25 March 1839Arrived at Smyrna; vice-consul Charnaud took him to Borrell ('an antiquarian where I saw things I should like very much')
SmyrnaMerrillees 2017
- March 1839Bought seven antiquities from Borrell for 15 pounds, among them the Tamassos bronze Apollo head; diary 28 March: 'enchanted with my bargain of 7 curiosities'
SmyrnaMerrillees 2017
- 1956The Chatsworth Apollo head was acquired by the British Museum from the Duke of Devonshire (the then duke) in lieu of death duties
LondonKiely 2017
Connections
3 peopleSales, gifts & bequests
- Bought from Henry Perigal Borrell1839–1840
Family
- Left property to Duke of Devonshire (holder of the title in 1956; not named in source)possibly
Fieldwork & employment
- Guided by John Henry Charnaud1839
Colleagues & contacts
- Met John Henry Charnaud1839
- Connected with Duke of Devonshire (holder of the title in 1956; not named in source)probably1956
Objects
Large bronze head of Apollo (Chatsworth Head)
From Tamassos, found 1836British Museum GR 1958,0418.1March 1839Merrillees 2017
On Ancient Cyprus
1 pageSources
- 1.Robert S. Merrillees (2017). “Cypriote antiquities in Late Ottoman Istanbul and Smyrna - II: Cypriote antiquities in the Greek Evangelical School Museum and their Trading in Late Ottoman Smyrna (Modern Izmir)”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 47, 121-164. Online
- 2.T. Kiely (2017). “Britain and the archaeology of Cyprus II: 1914 to the present day”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 47, 253-310. Online
- 3.Anja Ulbrich, Thomas Kiely (2012). “Britain and the Archaeology of Cyprus. I. The long 19th century”. Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes 42. Online