In this Cloister, and in the Hall that leads to it, are the famous “marbles” which form so prominent a feature in the attractions of Wilton—statues, busts, bassi-relievi, urns, vases, fragments of various kinds—a wonderful assemblage of remains of Greece and Rome.[48] The collection was formed towards the close of the last century by Thomas, Earl of Pembroke, who purchased such of the Earl of Arundel’s collection as had been placed in the house, which were principally busts; to these he added many purchased at the dispersion of the Giustiniani collection of marbles, and also at the dispersion of the Mazarin collection, and from various other sources.
The Hall contains several statues; but its interest is derived from the many suits of armour by which it is adorned: they are chiefly trophies and memorials of the battle of St. Quentin, fought in 1557, in which the Earl of Pembroke commanded the forces of England. One of the suits was worn by the Earl, and two of them were, it is said, worn by the Constable Montmorency and the Duc de Montpensier, both taken prisoners at that eventful fight. A passage from the Hall leads to the Cloisters, from which, on either side, are entrances to the various apartments: these are furnished with judgment and taste, but their attractions are the pictures that adorn the walls.
The renowned “family picture” by Vandyke is beyond question the great painter’s masterpiece: it is 17 feet in length, by 11 feet in height, and fills one end of the drawing-room. It contains ten whole-length figures, the two principal of which are Philip, Earl of Pembroke, and his lady, Susan, daughter of Edward, Earl of Oxford. On the right stand their three sons, on the left their daughter and her husband, Robert, Earl of Carnarvon. Before them is Lady Mary, the wife of Charles, Lord Herbert, and above them, in the clouds, are two sons and a daughter who died young. It is a most grand and glorious work, the value of which is not to be estimated by money.
The room, which is called also the Cube Room, contains some thirteen other pictures, the productions of Vandyke.
Other of the great old masters are well represented in the several apartments of the mansion: many of them are, indeed, of great beauty and value.
We might occupy much space by printing a list of these pictures: they comprise a large number of the great Italian artists. They are, however, such as one usually meets in these palatial residences, and are thrown into comparative obscurity by the glorious assemblage of Vandykes.
In Lady Pembroke’s Summer Dressing-room there is a Gothic window by Price, “to whom Parliament granted £5,000 for having discovered the ancient method of staining glass.”
The Hall.