Summoning Leighton's Lost Collection
Recent research and stories from the search for four items from Frederic Leighton's original collection, recreated in the Ghost Objects exhibition.
Following Victorian artist Frederic Leighton’s death in 1896, the entire contents of his carefully curated studio-home (some 838 paintings and objects) were sold at Christie's auctioneers in London. When Leighton House opened to the public for the first time in 1900, the rooms were largely bare – containing a few pieces of furniture, prints of Leighton’s paintings and a large collection of his drawings which had been bought back for the museum by the Leighton House Committee.
Since the early 1980s the museum has been working to restore the interiors and bring them closer to their appearance during the artist's lifetime, including returning items from Leighton's original collection, with notable successes such as the recent acquisition of Lawrence Alma–Tadema’s, In My Studio. But, there are many items which are still lost, and as a result, the interiors give only a suggestion of what they once were...
In the exhibition Ghost Objects: Summoning Leighton's Lost Collection (21 October 2025 - 1 March 2026) the museum has worked with paper artist Annemarieke Kloosterhof to recreate some of these lost items in ghostly white paper. The objects selected are long searched for core pieces from Leighton’s collection – objects which were prominently displayed in the interiors and whose absence is still felt - including a 15th-century tabernacle shrine, a brass jardinière, an Italian inlaid cabinet, and a klismos chair and stool.
Through extensive research by Carlotta Gonzi and Leighton House Curators Hannah Lund and Daniel Robbins, we can reveal some of the recent discoveries, and remaining mysteries, behind the stories of these four lost objects.
Brass Jardinière
Lot 222: A Large Globular Copper Cistern, with monster and ring handles, fluted base - on ebonised plinth from Benares. The Leighton Sale, 9 July 1896.
This large jardinière is one of the items the museum has spent most time searching for and yet it remains surprisingly elusive. It was said to have been given to Leighton by his Holland Park Circle neighbour, artist Valentine Prinsep (1838–1904) after a trip to India in 1876–8. During Leighton’s lifetime it sat in the Staircase Hall on an ebonised plinth, and contained a large palm.
Contemporary descriptions of the jardinière often use vague terms such as an ‘antique brass pot’ which speak to a lack of knowledge of non-European objects. The Christie’s catalogue suggests it came from Benares (Varanasi), in Northern India, which had long been associated with fine metalwork. Today experts agree that Leighton’s vessel is not classically Indian in design, and was likely an Anglo-Indian product of an Arts and Crafts School. From the mid-nineteenth century, art schools supported by the British Government were founded in major cities such as Madras (Chennai), Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai), and Lahore.
Jardinières of a similar design also appear in photographs of the studios of some of Leighton’s artistic neighbours, suggesting Prinsep bought several of them to give to his friends.
Inlaid Cabinet
Bedford Lemere & Co., The Drawing Room, 1885. RIBA Collections.
Lot 112: An Italian Ebony Cabinet, with folding doors inlaid in the centre with two male figures in the costumes of circa 1610, bands of scroll work in engraved ivory on either side, enclosing fourteen drawers and small folding doors with equestrian figures. The Leighton Sale, 8 July 1896.
Cabinets on stands formed an important part of the interior furnishings of Leighton’s house with 11 listed in the 1896 sale catalogue. Today only one of them has been recovered and is on display in the Studio.
When this cabinet was sold in 1896, it was described as ‘an Italian Ebony Cabinet ... circa 1610’. The cabinet probably came from around Milan, Italy. During the 17th century the manufacture of ebony and ivory cabinets took root in the Duchy of Milan and in the Kingdom of Naples, where Flemish craftsmen worked for the Spanish troops occupying these territories. Neapolitan cabinets tend to be larger and featured battle scenes, while Milanese cabinets typically have classical or allegorical inlaid designs.
While experts agree that the cabinet is Italian, they suggest that it may date from later than the sale catalogue suggested. Dating cabinets like this is difficult as they were produced from the 17th to the 19th century and there has been little research on the design variations throughout this period. Uncertainties like this make it more challenging to try and locate the original object.
Klismos Chair
The Antechamber, Leighton House, 1882. From Cosmo Monkhouse, ‘Some English Artists and their Studios’, Century Magazine, 1882.
Lot 458: An Ebonised Chair, of Greek design; and a ditto stool. The Leighton Sale, 10 July 1896.
It is not known when or where Leighton purchased this klismos chair and stool, and no comparable example has been traced. Leighton may have commissioned it to use as a prop in his paintings. The chair appears in Leighton's frieze Music (1883) on display in the museum reception.
Dating back to the 6th century BC, the klismos chair was a Greek invention featuring a curved back and flaring, concave legs. More than two thousand years later versions of the klismos chair made a reappearance in Europe in the late 18th century. As with most Greek furniture, chairs were crafted primarily from wood, which rarely survived, but they appeared on ancient vase paintings, reliefs, and sculptures allowing 18th century designers and craftsmen to recreate the design. In England, Thomas Hope (1769–1831) was among the first to pioneer klismos-inspired chairs, and several were illustrated in his book Household Furniture and Interior Decoration of 1807. At the Christie’s sale in 1896, the klismos chair was purchased by Leighton’s Holland Park Circle neighbour and friend Valentine Prinsep (1838–1904) at a cost of £4, roughly £500 today.
Frederic Leighton 'Music' frieze detail, Leighton House.
Tabernacle
Lot 229: An Italian shrine, carved and gilt, enclosing the Virgin and Child, angels supporting a crown, canopy and columns with cherubs and shells, pierced Gothic designs, with inscription above and scrolls below, engraved arabesques at the side. The Leighton Sale, 9 July 1896.
Until research for the Ghost Objects exhibition began, the elaborate carved and gilt tabernacle which can be seen in contemporary photographs of Leighton’s Studio was almost a total mystery.
We now know that, on his travels, Leighton purchased his Madonna and Child with Adoring Angels Within a Tabernacle (ca.1460–70) from the ‘prince of Antiquarians’ Stefano Bardini (1836–1922) in Florence, Italy - making it one of the few artworks from Leighton’s collection where we have a purchase record. It was acquired together with a ‘piece of 16th century velvet chasuble’ for 6,000 lire on 31October 1889.
In a Christian religious context, ‘tabernacle’ (dwelling) indicates the place where the Eucharist is kept. However, as with Leighton’s example, the term can also describe shrines or niches containing sacred images. This example is by the Italian sculptor Domenico Di Paris (active ca. 1443–1495). Di Paris spent much of his career working in Ferrara, Italy and the tabernacle was probably produced for a member of the Ferrarese court. It is this connection to Ferrara that first led to the identification of the tabernacle, when project researcher Carlotta Gonzi noticed the similarity between the dolphins along the top of the tabernacle, and those in the painting, A Muse (Calliope?) by the Ferrarese painter Cosmè Tura (1430–1495) in the National Gallery.
The boneless structure of the face and hands of the Virgin were typical of Domenico Di Paris’s work. Other unusual aspects of the object align with Leighton’s eclectic collecting taste. Islamic-inspired decoration within the tabernacle and on its frame, commonly employed by contemporary Venetian workshops, likely originated from book covers imported from Egypt and Syria during the Middle Ages and hark back to places much beloved by Leighton who travelled extensively in the region.
It is unclear what happened to the tabernacle after it was sold in 1896, but it is now believed to be in a private collection in Italy.
Help us find Leighton's lost collection
Already, work on this project has generated exciting new research on the lost ghost objects, but we are hoping there is more to be found!
If you recognise an object or have some information which might help us track it down, please get in touch at [email protected].
With your help perhaps we will be able to replace our ghosts with Leighton’s original objects.
Plan your visit
Ghost Objects: Summoning Leighton's Lost Collection
A commission by Annemarieke Kloosterhof
From 11 October 2025 to 1 March 2026
Included within admission ticket
Leighton House | On display in the historic house: staircase hall, drawing room, silk room and Leighton's studio.
Open Wednesdays to Mondays, 10am- 5:30pm (last entry 4:30pm)
Join a Curator Tour with Curator of Exhibitions and Displays, Hannah Lund, on Thursday 4 December.
Acknowledgements
The museum would like to thank Carlotta Gonzi for her support in researching the objects and writing the text for this guide.
Artworks by: Annemarieke Kloosterhof.
Paper-craft assistants: Bethan Smith & Tina Luo.
Paper supplier: G.F.Smith.
Art handling: Crown Fine Art.
Printing: Calverts.
Photography courtesy of Jaron James.
The exhibition has been supported by the DCH Foundation, the museum's Exhibition Circle and The Friends of Leighton House. The promotion and outreach for the programming of 100 Years of Leighton House has been supported by the CORA Foundation.
