Sold in the 1848 sale.

Stowe 1848 Sale Catalogue.

697. The Marine Venus, arranging her hair—a beautiful antique statue, about 4 feet 6 inches high—found in excavating the baths of Agrippa at Rome, and brought to England by the Marquis of Chandos. Her Majesty the Queen. £163 16s 0d. [About £10,835 in year 2000 prices].

The present Duke of Buckingham, when Marquis of Chandos, during a somewhat lengthened séjour in Italy, devoted much time and money to an exploration of the ruins of many of the great temples of antiquity, and brought to light several very remarkable works of art. The above exquisite statue was one of the most beautiful relics thus restored, and its possession was so highly prized by the Duke, that upon arriving in England, after having had the injuries it had sustained by the lapse of pages carefully repaired, it was placed in an alcove prepared for it in the Music-room, where it has since formed one of the most graceful ornaments it is possible to conceive. Her Majesty the Queen, when visiting Stowe, in January, 1845, expressed her admiration of its beauties in very warm terms; indeed, the impression it made upon the mind of the Queen, may be gathered from the fact that, when the melancholy news of the fall of Stowe became known, Her Majesty commissioned Mr Grűner, the well-known German connoisseur, to purchase the statue for her Royal Consort. The lot was put up at 100 guineas, from which sum it rapidly advanced to 150 guineas. The bidding was then confined to Mr Grűner, Mr Norton, Mr Russell, and two or three other gentlemen. At length, the others giving way, the lot was knocked down to Mr Grűner at 157 guineas. A curious story is told of the manner in which the Prince first became acquainted with his possession of the statue. In the Morning Post of the day succeeding the sale, the lot was described as purchased by Mr Gruner for Prince Albert. The announcement being observed by the Queen, her Majesty handed the newspaper to the Prince, and congratulated him on having made so valuable and addition to his collection. His Royal Highness, having taken no step in the matter, expressed his entire ignorance of the affair; upon which the Queen with great naïveté, declared her knowledge of the circumstances, and requested her Royal consort to assert the work as a birthday present from herself. The statue was forwarded to Osborne—the Marine residence of the court—within twenty-four hours after its disposal.