East Riding Museums

This item is in the Burton Constable Hall collections and is included on this database by kind permission of the Burton Constable Foundation. From his yard at Hyde Park Corner in London, John Cheere furnished countless country-house interiors with his mass-produced plaster statues, busts and statuettes. William Constable (1721-91) initially ordered a bronzed statuette of Demosthenes (see below) and a sketch for a life-size plaster figure. Demosthenes was an Athenian statesman who was renowned for his eloquence in public speaking and his political integrity: the statue provides a fitting affirmation of Constable’s Enlightenment values. Furthermore, with its elaborate draperies and daring reach, it is an ambitious and decorative piece. Located in the Great Hall.