Lost Treasures revisited – Dog sarcophagus found

7 October 2015

In April 2012 we launched a campaign to find out where the treasures that used to live in Stowe House went after the two great sales. The spending of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos eventually led to the sale all the fine furniture, paintings and beautiful objects from the House. Eventually they even sold off the estate itself.

Here at Stowe we are keen to find out what happened to the fascinating collection which the Duke once enjoyed and we hope to bring back some of those beautiful items. Over the next 12 weeks we will be revisiting our findings from the first year of the campaign.

2015 update: The portrait above now hangs in the State Drawing Room.

27 April 2012

Yes, you read that correctly! The Roman sarcophagus in which the 1st Duke’s beloved pug was interred has been rediscovered in a private collection in New York. It originally sat in the Museum Garden at Stowe (behind the Menagerie) and was sold in 1848 for £8. The pug in question can be seen in the above portrait, which is hung in the North Hall.