Re-Casting Antiquity: Pompeii and the Crystal Palace

Abstract

An 1854, the Crystal Palace (fig. 1), trans? planted after much debate from Hyde Park, reopened at Sydenham. Following the success of the Great Exhibition three years previously, the new Crystal Palace Company was hoping for success with its new venture, a museum to re? ceive, instruct, amuse and interest.1 Twice the size of the original Palace, the aim was ambitious if not hubristic: to produce a comprehensive, visual encyclopedia of the world. Before even entering the building, visitors could wander in gardens demonstrating the history of gardening, or sit by the artificial lake, populated by models of wallowing dinosaurs (fig. 2). Inside, the north and south wings, containing the de? partments of Raw Produce and Natural History, framed the main nave. Bisecting the nave, at the centre of the building, the Grand Central Transept, a concert area surrounded by four sculpture collections, served as a focus for the whole ex? hibition. Radiating from the transept, the south nave housed a series of industrial courts, such as the Birmingham Court and the Sheffield Court, which showcased different aspects of British industry and manufacture. The north was formed by a sequence of fine arts courts, designed to show the de? velopment of art and architecture from Egypt and Assyria via the Gothic middle ages to the Renaissance. This section was the preserve of Owen Jones who oversaw the creation of each court as a selection of scale models and casts designed both to instruct the public in art history and to promote good design amongst contemporary craftsmen.

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