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Home , Alabaster, Arch of Constantine, Arch of Janus, Arch of Titus, Column of Phocas, Grand Tour

Grand Miniatures 19th Century Buildings from the Collection of Ace Architects

San Francisco Airport, International Terminal December, 2010 - June, 2011 2 3

This page and cover: 19th Century Souvenir Buildings as installed in the Collection of Ace Architects 4 5

Grand Miniatures 19th Century SouvenirGrand Buildings from the Collection Miniatures of Ace Architects San Francisco19th Century Airport, SouvenirInternational Buildings Terminal from the Collection of Ace Architects December, 2010 - June, 2011 www. flysfo.com/web/page/sfo_museum/exhibitions/international_terminal_exhibitions/south_20.html San Francisco Airport, International Terminal December, 2010 - June, 2011

Catalogue Lucia Howard & Weingarten Ace Architects www.aceland.com

19th Century Souvenir Buildings as installed in the Collection of Ace Architects 6 7

Concourse Contents

Monument to , Rheims Cathedral, Trento, 20 1 Rheims I. Exhibition Plan facing page

Eiffel Tower, Group, II. The and Its pp. 8-19 19 2 Italy

Bank of , , III. 19th Century Souvenir Buildings - 18 3 Paris 20 Vitrines pp. 20-45

Rouen Cathedral, Colonne du Congres, Rouen 17 4 IV. About the Collection p. 46

Cleopatra’s Needle, July Column, V. Bibliography p. 47 London 16 5 Paris

Arch of , Pantheon, Pantheon, of Constantine, 15 6 Rome

Austerlitz Column, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris 14 7 Paris

Baptistry, Tomb of Scipio, 13 8 Rome

Octogon zu Wilhelmshohe, Luxor Obelisk, Kassel, 12 9 Paris

Arch of Constantine, Colonna dell’Immacolata, Rome 11 10 Rome

Exhibition Plan 8 9

The Grand Tour and Its Souvenirs

Most visitors to this exhibition, in the International Terminal of San Francisco Air- port, are on their way somewhere else – often to places far away and provocatively unfamiliar; places perhaps exotic, ancient, and out-of-the-way; for purposes diverting, instructive, commercial.

These travelers continue a tradition begun more than 400 years ago. Beginning in the late 16th century, a very few, often English tourists began to write about their almost unimaginably adventurous visits to the Continent. With these accounts developed new understandings of , especially the idea that it might be both educational and entertaining. Before then, only war and religion (often the two together, e.g. The Crusades), as well as commerce (e.g. Marco Polo) propelled people to distant places.

Voyage of Italy, or a Compleat Journey through Italy, the first English guidebook to that country, appeared in 1670, written by , a Catholic priest and “bear- leader” – a and chaperone of sorts to those young aristocratic Englishmen, and occasionally women, who were the period’s typical tourists. Very often, this journey, which might occupy a year or more, replaced students’ final terms at college; and in addition to other duties, bearleaders acted as teachers, seeing to their charges’ formal education.

By the early part of the 18th century, the English traveler’s route was well established – across the Channel to ; several weeks in Paris, slow progress south across the to Italy and eventually, after stops in and, perhaps, , on to Rome, the ultimate destination.

This trip, which became known as the Grand Tour, could be difficult and perilous. Grand Tourists perished en route and in Italy from disease; and journeys were often interrupted by quarantines for plague; wars and civil insurrections; highwaymen, ‘banditti’, and, for those few choosing passage by ship, pirates.

And yet, still the travelers came. The attractions, of course, were multiple and substantial. Historic accounts of the Grand Tour focus on its cultural and, especially, artistic aspects – the opportunity to visit the great, ancient and of Classical Rome; to see the famous canvases and palaces of the , for example. This passion for antique Classicism both mirrored and fed Hall at Hamilton Palace, Scotland, with souvenirs of the Grand Tour, including a patented bronze minia- parallel enthusiasms in England. In this period, leading British architects and artists ture of Paris’ Colonne d’Austerlitz (Photograph c. 1870) worked largely in the Classical idioms. The most important buildings were patterned 10 11

on those of Andrea Palladio, the Classicing Italian Renaissance architect whose work interpreted the majestic structures of .

Why were the British held in such thrall by Rome? The cultural parallels were unmistakable. Ancient Rome had been the civilized center of empire for a thousand years. In the mid- 18th century, a pinnacle of the British Empire, the new center was London. And yet, as the then ruined city dramatically highlighted, Rome, its civili- zation and empire, had foundered. Modern Romans lived among the ruins. In ways profound, and hardly subtle, Rome offered the British a riveting, cautionary tale; a glimpse, perhaps, of their own future.

Cultural pre-occupations with Classicism occasioned neglect of other historic periods, including the achievements of the Gothic. The Grand Tour souvenirs exhibited here reflect travelers’ skewed interests, with Classical buildings and monuments abundantly represented, while their Gothic counterparts are almost, though not entirely, overlooked.

Recent Grand Tour studies have included the pleasures of this travel beyond the academic. Freed of stifling social conventions at home, young English aristocrats took to the variety of novel cultural freedoms enjoyed in Italy.

If not quite Spring Break in Daytona Beach, it was very unlike London. Liberties (above) extended to the predictable vices of drink and gaming, but in other directions as “Canova in his Studio with Henry Tresham” well. The Italian custom of ‘ciciebeship’, for example, entertained older, married (1788), by Hugh Douglas Hamilton. The famed sculptor, mallet and in hand, noblewomen’s liaisons with young English travelers. leaning against his “Cupid and Psyche”, speaks with Tresham, a London historical painter Especially in the latter part of the 18th century in Italy, Grand occasioned pictured here on his Grand Tour . a large trade in antiquities and . In addition to ancient statues, architectural artifacts, and Italian pictures, there was now substantial commerce in new , including work by Antonio Canova and new , especially (left) “Portrait of John Talbot” (1773) by Pompeo much-esteemed portraits of Grand Tourists, by artists such as . Batoni. This life-sized canvas of the future 1st Earl Talbot features antique Roman statues and architectural artifacts. 12 13

Additionally, a new genre of , the capriccio, picturing novel, imagined arrangements of ancient Classical architectural ruins, was widely produced, and enthusiastically purchased for export to England. These pictures origins lie in 17th century Baroque Italian vedute – view paintings – of Classical ruins, made as decoration for palazzi and apartments. The central subject of these was, of course, Rome. The most famous capriccio painter, Gian Paolo Panini, maintained a studio of artists all capable of working in his distinctive style.

The French Revolution, in 1792, soon led to that country’s occupation of substantial areas of the Kingdom of Italy, and very sharply curtailed Grand Tourism, though the especially adventurous still set out for Rome.

Yet, by the first part of the 19th century, encouraged by English travel companies such as Thomas Cook, which arranged all aspects of visitors’ itineraries; and, especially, by the later completion of railroad routes to Italy, tourism revived, at a “A Capriccio of Roman Ruins” (1737), Gian Paolo Panini. An imaginary grouping of ancient Roman scale previously unknown. monuments, including the , Arch of , Pyramid of Aaius Cesstius, etc. In the mid-19th century, the Grand Tour, previously an aristocratic privilege, became somthing of a mass phenomenon, the precursor to today’s democratized, international travel industry, in which San Francisco Airport plays an integral role.

“The Colosseum and ” (c. 1650), Viviano Codazzi. This Baroque realistically pictures the adjacent ancient Roman structures . 14 15

Architectural Models

Grand Miniatures: 19th Century Souvenir Buildings from the Collection of Ace Architects surveys the range of miniature architectural travel souvenirs available to Grand Tourists along their usual route – from London, through France to Paris, then south to the Alps, into and, eventually, to Rome.

These miniatures also reflect the changing nature of European travel in the 19th century. For example, the exhibit’s large, very finely made, gilt bronze timepiece replicas of the facades of cathedrals in Paris, Rheims, and Rouen, were all made ca. 1820, for very well- heeled clientele, including aristocratic Grand Tourists. By century’s end, and at the other end of the spectrum, the mass-produced cast zinc and replicas of the Eiffel Tower were made to be much less costly, available to travelers of relatively modest means.

If the quality of architectural souvenirs changed much over the course of the 19th century, their subject matter – Classicism and the antique – varied hardly at all. Even in prosperous, up-to-date cities, these miniatures focus on ancient monuments.

Grand Miniatures includes two vitrines featuring London souvenirs. These include the so- called Cleopatra’s Needle, a 15th century BC Egyptian obelisk, brought from Alexandria; as well as the classicizing Nelson’s Column and Bank of England, their designs reliant on an- tique Rome. Only a late 19th century replica of Big Ben touches on the City’s much longer and more profound history with Gothic.

Likewise, among Parisian souvenirs featured here are the Arc de Triomphe (patterned on Rome’s Arch of Constantine); the Luxor Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde (another ancient Egyptian obelisk removed to ); and the Colonne d’Austerlitz in the Place Vendome, made in nearly literal imitation of Rome’s ’s Column, though crowned by a different Emperor - Napoleon.

It is, then, little surprise that the Eternal City is the place most abundantly represented in Grand Miniatures, nor that all this City’s monumental miniatures are modeled on ancient structures. These are of all types – ruined and intact temples, triumphal and col- (top left) Models fashioned from cork were the earliest Italian architectural miniatures made for Grand Tourists; and were often commissioned, rather than made in multiples. This 1787 cork miniature of Rome’s umns, and the great marvels of antique Rome – the Colosseum and Pantheon. Among was made by Antonio Chichi. these Roman souvenirs is a replica of the Flaminian Obelisk, in the , yet another ancient Egyptian brought to the then new center of empire. (lower left) A second half of the 19th century marble miniature of the Temple of the Sibyl, in Tivoli, outside There are, in fact, more ancient Egyptian obelisks in Rome than in . Rome.

(right) This Italian red marble pair of architectural miniatures protraying the Roman Forum’s Temple of The materials of these 19th century Roman architectural souvenirs – Italian , and Column of , are marked as made by Giuseppe Locatelli, in 1855. alabaster, and bronze – go hand in hand with their subject matter. This exhibition’s 16 17

miniatures of the ruined Temples of Vespasian and Castor and Pollux, in the Forum, are fashioned from marble, like the buildings they represent. It is much more than possible that these souvenirs are made from antique Italian giallo antico, a marble commonly available in mid-19th century Rome.

Along the same lines, it is worth remembering that when Pope Julius II required the for St. Peters, in the early 16th century, he sent his stonemasons to the Colosseum, which for centuries was employed as a quarry. Similarly, bronze ceiling tiles removed from Rome’s Pantheon on order of Pope Urban VIII were melted down and re- used, in part, for St. Peter’s Baldachino, designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini. Might some por- tion of the bronze, not employed by Bernini, have eventually found its way to this exhibi- tion’s bronze model of the Pantheon. (top left) This third quarter of the 19th century bronze, double inkwell replica of Rome’s Pantheon is in- cluded in “Grand Miniatures” (Vitrine #6); and is very similar to the model mentioned in Edith Wharton’s Late 19th century Italian architectural souvenirs, including this Exhibition’s Pisa miniatures 1901 short story “The Angle at the Grave”. – the Leaning Tower, Cathedral, and Baptistry – were often machine carved from alabaster, rather than more expensive marble. This less precious stone, sometimes combined with (top right) A c. 1875 bronze inkwell in the form of Rome’s Temple of is supported on a stepped base marble, was the material of choice for these souvenirs through the last decade of the 19th made of two different Italian marbles. century into the first decade of the 20th century.

By 1900, Grand Tourists had collected travel souvenirs of Italy and other European destinations for more than 200 years. These included pictures, sculptures, antiquities, and the architectural miniatures which are the subject of this exhibition. In their new settings, these objects provoked fresh associations:

The House, by the time Paulina came to live in it, had already acquired the publicity of a place of worship; not the perfumed chapel of a romantic idolatry but the cold clean empty meeting-house of ethical enthusiasms. The ladies lived on its outskirts, as it were, in cells that left the central fane undisturbed. The very position of the furniture had come to have a ritual significance: the sparse ornaments were the offerings of kindred intellects, the steel engravings by Raphael Morghen marked the of a European tour, and the black-walnut desk with its bronze inkstand modelled on the Pantheon was the altar of this bleak temple of thought. From Edith Wharton’s “The Angel at the Grave”, 1901

The Great War, like conflicts before it, brought European tourism to a halt. By the time widespread travel resumed, tourists’ priorities and the sorts of souvenirs they sought were This set of alabaster miniatures of Pisa’s monuments - (left to right) Leaning Tower, , and Baptistry - very much changed. Previous, single-minded passions for Classicism and ancient civiliza- are listed in an 1892 household inventory for Chatsworth House, , England. tion faded, crowded by a range of other travel attractions. With this, the need of returning home with souvenir models of Europe’s antique monuments became less urgent. 18 19

There’s a certain poignance, then, with Grand Miniatures, an exhibition of architec- tural tourists’ mementos from an antique period of travel; a period whose focus and leisurely pace was supplanted by more modern, diverse interests, abetted by the abil- ity to move around the planet quickly, easily, in airplanes.

Yet, Grand Miniatures also points to travel’s constants – our ongoing desires to see and experience first hand memorable, unfamiliar places and cultures; learn about the world beyond the everyday and take pleasure in this, just as the Grand Tourists did, beginning in the 17th century.

Notes from this Exhibition

Grand Miniatures is arranged in twenty vitrines towards the south end of San Francisco Airport’s International Terminal. Each case focuses on a single city along the route of the Grand Tour, and includes one or more of each place’s architectural souvenirs.

This catalogue sharpens the focus still further, considering either individual objects or, less frequently, small groups of related miniatures. In this, our purpose is to examine in greater depth the circumstances and histories of the souvenirs themselves, rather than the buildings and monuments they model.

For example, this catalogue attempts to provide the dates of manufacture for each object, and , where possible, the name of the manufacturer. This exhibition’s miniatures were made for a variety of purposes, from a variety of materials, employing a variety of methods; and a further goal of the following is to describe something of these ranges.

Interestingly enough, several of the miniatures in this exhibition pre-date the places The British were not the only northern Europeans in the 17th through the 19th centuries focussed on they represent, providing new meanings for the word “souvenir”. Several other of antique Classicism and the ancient world. After the French Revolution, Napoleon financed expeditions to these replicas have outlived the monuments they model. Egypt, whose purposes were both to document the great monuments, and return with artifacts. For this, the new Emperor engaged the assistance of Dominique Vivant, who in the late 18th century worked for the government, studying and collecting in Italy, and producing two important architectural A final purpose of this catalogue, in common with the exhibition, is to underscore volumes concerning . both the historical changes in the ways we recall memorable places, as well as the absolute continuity of our passions for this species of memory. In 1804 Napoleon appointed him Director-General of Museums, in which capacity he personally brought to France artwork from defeated nations, especially Italy. We’re grateful to the SFO Museum, lead by Director Blake Summer, for the compelling, handsome curation, Benjamin Zix’s “Portrait Allegorique de Vivant Denom” shows him surrounded by Classicizing sculpture, design, and installation of “Grand Miniatures: 19th Century Souvenir Buildings from the Collection of Ace models of ancient monuments, and antique texts. Architects”. This is the third exhibition with which we’ve collaborated with SFO Museum, over the last 17 years. We much appreciate their enthusiasm and commitment to exhibitions at once popular, and beyond the reach of more conventional institutions. 20 21

(above) Maker’s plaque is located below clockface.

(this page) Highly detailed, gilded bronze clock case is typical of French cathedral clocks of this period.

20 1 19 2 18 3 Rheims Cathedral, France 17 4 16 5 c. 1820; F. Villemsens, Paris: gilded bronze; 24” high 15 6 In the first part of the 19th century, several French clockmakers undertook elaborately which supported a removeable glass dome. At the base’s interior is a coiled red gong, struck 14 7 13 8 detailed models of a group of French gothic cathedrals, including Rheims, Notre Dame de at the hour and half hour. 12 9 Paris, and Rouen. F. Villemsens, a Parisian maker, fabricated this fire-gilded bronze minia- 20 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 ture of Rheims Cathedral c. 1820. This clock was furnished with an inlaid rosewood base, 1 Case Plan 22 23

(this page) High detail carving of entab- lature and column capitals.

20 1 19 2 18 3 Roman Forum Group, Italy 17 4 c. 1850; Italy; marble; 17-1/2“ high 16 5 15 6 These Italian giallo antico marble models of the ruins of the Temples of Castor and Pollux, Despite the Forum’s profusion of ruins, these three monuments were souvenir makers’ mod- 14 7 and Vespasian, and the Column of Phocus, all in the Roman Forum, date to the middle of els of choice. 13 8 12 9 the 19th century. Often encountered singly, this is an unusual matched set of miniatures - 22 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 their capitols, columns, bases, and other details all the work of the same expert carver. 2 Case Plan 24 25

(above) LeBlanc Freres name is stamped into the underside of the box top.

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 Arc de Triomphe, Paris Colonne de Congres, 18 3 17 4 1870’s: LeBlanc Freres, Paris; patinated bronze; 15“ high 17 4 16 5 1860; Belgium; patinated bronze; 36“ high 16 5 15 6 This large, highly detailed, patinated bronze model of the Arc de Triomphe is mounted to a A tour de force of mid-19th century bronze casting, this extravagantly detailed model of the 15 6 14 7 14 7 13 8 French slate base. Maker LeBlanc Freres produced a profusion of good quality Parisian Colonne de Congres includes extracts from the Belgian constitution, names of the country’s 13 8 12 9 souvenir architectural minatures, in a variety of sizes, in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Like martyrs, etc., readable only under magnification. This miniature’s several parts are fitted to- 12 9 24 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 11 10 4 3 Case Plan this model, the majority of these miniatures included a velver lined box built into the top. gether with a precision and closeness of tolerance unseen in other architectural replicas. Case Plan 26 27

(left) Detail of July Column , and Le Genie de la Liberte

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 July Column, Paris Pantheon, Rome 18 3 17 4 1870’s; LeBlanc Freres, Paris; patinated bronze; 25-1/2” high c. 1870: Italy; double inkwell; bronze /marble; 6“ high 17 4 16 5 16 5 15 6 In the second half of the 19th century, before completion of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, In the 17th century, Roman Baroque architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini added a pair of bell 15 6 14 7 Parisian souvenir monuments were generally limited to the Arc de Triomphe, Colonne towers to the facade of the ancient Pantheon. They were not popular and, almost imme- 14 7 13 8 13 8 12 9 d’Austerlitz, Obelisqe du Luxor, and this, the Colonne de Juillet. All, it appears, were cast, at diately, were called the “ass’s ears”. In 1883 they were removed. This bronze model of the 12 9 11 10 26 Grand Tour Miniaturesone time or another, by the LeBlanc Freres foundry. Pantheon pictures the ancient temple absent Bernini’s scorned ‘ears’. 11 10 6 5 Case Plan Case Plan 28 29

(far left) Detail of and openings adjacent to the clockface.

(left) Maker’s stamp at back of clock.

(below) Detail of gallery at base of towers.

20 1 19 2 18 3 Notre Dame, Paris 17 4 16 5 c. 1820; F. DuMouchel a Paris; gilded bronze; 18“ high 15 6 Another in the impressive group of early 19th century minaiutre s of French gothic ca- pictures the firm’s Rheims Cathedral, and notes their advertisement for the range of the 14 7 13 8 thedrals, this model was made by F. DuMouchel of Paris. Perhaps the best known maker architectural clocks in an 1837 issue of the Commerce Almanac. 12 9 of these clocks is Barozet Freres. Ottomeyer and Proschel’s volume Vergoldete Bronzen 28 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 7 Case Plan 30 31

(left) (right) Detail of The obelisk’s carving at lid base, designed and top of box. by the French, Inscription is portrays the red pigment elevation of pressed into the monument carved letters. in Paris.

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 Tomb of Scipio, Rome Luxor Obelisk, Paris 18 3 17 4 1870’s: LeBlanc Freres, Paris: Brass/marble; 16-1/2“high 17 4 16 5 c. 1850 ; Italy; marble; 8” high 16 5 15 6 Located along the , the Tomb of Scipio contained the remains of one of Imperial This ancient Egyptian obelisk, originally placed at the Temple in Luxor, arrived in Paris in 15 6 14 7 14 7 13 8 Rome’s greatest military leaders. In the 19th century, this was a popular subject for souvenir 1883 after an unusually harrowing journey, and was re-erected on a new base in the Place de 13 8 12 9 architectural miniatures. This large example, fashioned from red marble, is purposed, almost la Concorde. This replica, which may have been cast by LeBlanc Freres, is highlty realized, 12 9 30 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 11 10 8 Case Plan of course, as a box with a removable lid. and includes the diagram showing how the monument was re-erected. Case Plan 9 32 33

(this page) The monument’s base with various marbles, alabaster, cast bronze Papal crest, and terra cotta statue.

(opposite above) Terra cottra figure of the Virgin.

(opposite below) Cast silver bas relief, one of four set into the base.

20 1 19 2 18 3 Colonna dell’Immacolata, Rome 17 4 16 5 c. 1853; Italy; marble/ alabaster/ silver/ / bronze; 80“ high 15 6 Extraordinaily tall and lavishly turned out, this model of the Colonna dell’Imacolata near between the model and the monument it represents, suggest this impressive miniature was 14 7 13 8 the Piazza de Spagna at the foot of the , is fashioned from a remarkable variety fabricated in advance of the Colonna’s construction in 1857. Pope Pius IX anounced the 12 9 of materials. The piece includes seven different marbles, alabaster, cast silver panels, terra project, celebrating the Virgin’s own virgin birth, in 1854, and this model likely served to 32 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 10 Case Plan cotta figures, and bronze miniatures of the Papal seal. Differences in proportiona and detail, rally enthusiasm for the project. 34 35

(above) (above) Unidentified maker’s mark or inventory Inkwell and samder covers are hinged or pivot to the number. side.

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 Arch of Constantine, Rome Octogon zu Wilhelmshohe, Kassel, Germany 18 3 17 4 c. 1850: Italy; bronze/travertine: 12“ high 17 4 16 5 ca. 1860; Germany; triple inkwell; brass; 12“ high 16 5 15 6 This large, unusual, highly detailed bronze miniature is set atop a block of possibly antique The remarkable, early 18th century Calissically-inspired landscape and waterworks at Kassel is 15 6 14 7 14 7 13 8 travertine. Later 19th century replicas of this monument were carved in both marble and the subject of this perspectivally-enhanced, brass, triple inkwell and sander. Closer architectural 13 8 12 9 alabaster. elements are rendered large, while those in the distance, including a statue of Hercules atop an 12 9 34 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 11 10 11 Case Plan attenuated pyramid, are smaller. Case Plan 12 36 37

The souvenirs pictured here, produced over the length of the 19th century, record three successive changes to the figure of Napoleon atop the column:

(l to r) c. 1810, c. 1850, c. 1880)

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 Baptistry, Pisa Austerlitz Column, Paris 18 3 17 4 c. 1890; Italy; alabaster/marble; 9“ high 1800s (see below): Paris; bronze and silver; all 3 are 7-1/2“ high 17 4 16 5 Towards the end of the 19th century, Italian architectural souvenirs were inreasingly made Built in 1810, this monument, patterned on Trajan’s Column in Rome, has undergone a 16 5 15 6 15 6 14 7 in alabaster, a less costly stone than marble; and were carved with aid from machines, rather succession of changes over the course of its 200 year history. Originally the column was 14 7 13 8 13 8 12 9 than wholly by hand. This large model, which includes marble at its base, demonstrates the surmounted by a figure of Napoleon clothed as a Roman emperor. In 1833, this statue was 12 9 36 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 very delicate detail possible in this material. exchanged for the familiar ‘Little Corporal’ which, in 1863, was itself replaced by a different, 11 10 Case Plan 13 Roman-inspired statue very similar to the original statue of 1810. Case Plan 14 38 39

20 1 19 2 18 3 , Arch of Constantine, 17 4 16 5 15 6 Pantheon, Rome 14 7 c. 1880: Italy; marlbe/alabaster; two arches are 5“ high, Pantheon 6”high 13 8 12 9 These three models were all made at about the same time; each a carved, yellow marble Other Roman subjects rendered this way at about this time include the colosseum, Arches of Constan- 38 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 miniature set atop a white stone base, into the side of which is cut the monument’s name. tine and Titus, and Temples of Sibyl and Vesta. 15 Case Plan 40 41

(left) (above) Accurate representation of the Unidentified maker’s stamp at monument’s hieroglyphics is reversed side of case. etched into the polished surface of this English serpentine min- iature.

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 Cleopatra’s Needle, London Rouen Cathedral, France 18 3 17 4 c. 1880; England; serpentine marble; 33-1/2“ high c. 1820: France; gilded bronze; 18“ high 17 4 16 5 16 5 15 6 In 1878, after a long sea journey from Alexandria, the ancient Egyptian obelisk from Like this exhibition’s early 19th century, gilded bronze clock models of Rheims and Notre 15 6 14 7 Dame, this miniature of a facade of Rouen Cathedral is elaborately and accurately detailed. 14 7 13 8 Helopolis arrived in London. A remarkable mania for things Egyptian, including miniatures 13 8 12 9 of ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’, ensued. This large model is made of English Serpentine, its heiro- 12 9 40 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 11 10 Case Plan glyphics, which accurately reflect the obelisk’s, etched into the stone’s lustrous surfaces. 17 16 Case Plan 42 43

(below) Hallmarks show, from left, the maker -Frederick Edwards; standard - .925 Sterling; city - London; and date - 1897.

20 1 19 2 Bank of England, London 18 3 17 4 1897; Frederick Edwards, London: sterling silver/marble; 4” high What a spectacular gift for this man! Surprisingly often, architectural miniatures prove longer-lived 16 5 15 6 cThe June 28, 1897, issue of the Liverpool Mercury included this brief item – “New York, than the buildings they model. This sterling replica pictures the Bank as architect, , 14 7 Saturday – The President of the American Exchange Bank has received from a college friend had designed the building – a low, Classicizing, windowless (to protect against civil insurrections) 13 8 12 9 a model in silver of the Bank of England. The model is a foot square, and every external block. Beginning in 1925, a disfiguring tower was added, ruining Soane’s magical, top lit banking 1842 Grand Tour 11 Miniatures10 feature is carefully reproduced. A well-known London firm was tied up months constructing halls, though preserving the street facades. This was, wrote the great architectural historian Nicho- Case Plan it and it is estimated to be worth $1000.” las Pevsner, “the greatest architectural crime in the City of London, of the twentieth century.” 44 45

(left) Figure of trumpeting Eiffel’s design.

20 1 20 1 19 2 19 2 18 3 Eiffel Tower, Paris Monument to Dante, Trento 18 3 17 4 1880’s: France: painted spelter; 26“ high c. 1892: Cesare Zocchi di Francesco; Italy; bronze/marble; 41“ high 17 4 16 5 16 5 15 6 This tall, painted spelter miniature predates the Eiffel Tower; and both relies on and takes This impressive, carefully cast, bronze model was made before the monument was built, be- 15 6 14 7 liberties with that landmark’s design, which was widely published prior to its construction. ginning in 1893. Accompanying this miniature is a tall, green marble stand, with a revolving 14 7 13 8 13 8 12 9 The colossal, winged figure, blowing its long trumpet, is based on very much smaller, though top, allowing the model to be turned (and admired) from all sides. Cesare Zocchi, the monu- 12 9 11 10 44 Grand Tour Miniaturessimilar statue appearing in Eiffel’s original design, though left unbuilt. ment’s sculptor,etched his signature into the miniature’s base. 11 10 19 Case Plan Case Plan 20 46 47

About the Collection Bibliography

Over the last thirty-five years, Ace Architects has assembled the world’s leading and Arisi, Ferdinando. Gian Paolo Panini e i fasti della del ‘700. Rome: Ugo Bozzi most extensive collection of souvenir architectural miniatures. Among these are Editore, 1986. objects representing memorable buildings and monuments, of all types, from around the world. Black, Jeremy. Italy and the Grand Tour. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003. Several of the earliest of these, produced in the early 19th century, are included with this exhibition – Grand Miniatures: 19th Century Souvenir Buildings from the Collec- Hibbert, Christopher. The Grand Tour. London: Methuen London Ltd., 1987. tion of Ace Architects – while the most recent were made within the last several years. Over this two hundred year span, architectural miniatures have been fashioned from Lassels, Richard. An Italian Voyage, or A Compleat Journey through Italy. Paris: John an extraordinary variety of materials – cork; the range of marbles; brass and bronze; Starkey, 1670. 2 vols. zinc, iron, silver, copper, and gold; plastic, paper, wood, clay, and rubber; and, even less enduringly, ice – into an extraordinary variety of objects – inkwells, lamps, and Marshall, David Ryley. Viviano and Niccolo Codazzi and the Baroque Architectural boxes; paperweights, pencils, and pencil weights; salt and pepper shakers, banks, Fantasy. Rome: Jandi Sapi Editori, 1993. bookends and bottles; cigarette lighters, cigarette boxes, and ashtrays; needle cases, radios, erasers; candles, and bars of soap. Ottomeyer, Hans, and Proschel, Peter. Vergoldete Bronzen. : Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1986. 2 vols. What all have in common, though, is their purpose – reminding travelers of remark- able visits to memorable places. Trease, Geoffrey. The Grand Tour. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967.

Objects from Ace Architects’ collection have formed exhibitions at museums across the , including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Octagon Museum, St. Louis University, and Museum of the City of New York. Grand Miniatures is Ace’s third exhibition with SFO Museums.

The collection has been featured in the range of media – The New York and Los Ange- les Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Architectural Digest, House Beauti- ful, CNN.com – as well as on TV and National Public Radio.

Souvenir Buildings/Miniature Monuments, a volume describing the phenomenon of architectural miniatures, was authored by Ace Architects principal David Weingarten and Margaret Majua, and published by Harry Abrams. Grand Miniatures: 19th Century Souvenir Buildings from the Collection of Ace Architects Back cover: Eiffel Tower vitrine Ace Architects 330 2nd Street #1, Oakland, Ca, 94607 50 Grand Tour Miniatureswww.capriccio.aceland.com