Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury

Image credit: Historic Environment Scotland

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Once a garden sculpture, this lead statue of Mercury later adorned the façade of Duff House – along with five others. Also on display were statues of the classical gods Apollo, Bacchus, Luna, Mars and Minerva. Mercury was a major Roman god. Among other things, he was the god of communication, travellers and making money. Evidence from 1743 suggests that the statue previously stood on the bowling green at Airlie House, the Earl of Fife’s townhouse in Banff. Formal gardens with sculptures grew popular among the nobility in the 1600s, perhaps inspired by sights seen on the Grand Tour of Europe. More recently, the Mercury statue was replaced with a copy to preserve the original. The six statues were likely made around 1740 by Jan van Nost the Younger.

Duff House

Banff

Title

Mercury

Date

c.1740

Medium

lead

Measurements

H 198 x W 69 x D 45 cm

Accession number

DUFF005

Acquisition method

on loan from Scottish Ministers

Work type

Statue

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Duff House

Banff, Aberdeenshire AB45 3SX Scotland

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
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