bar scale of 1/3 inch to 1 foot

Height of the Building 55'3'' and some dimensions given

• Lincolns Inn Fields / 22^nd July 1824

Pen, sepia, black, grey, pink and blue washes with double ruled border on wove paper (596 x 480)

George Bailey (1792-1860, pupil then assistant 1806-37, curator 1837-60)

Weatherley & Lane 1818

Soane's original designs for the new Board of Trade and Privy Council offices had used a Corinthian order copied from the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli. That order, however, was not to Robinson's liking - it was (he argued) 'universally deemed extremely defective from the dwarfish proportions of its capital'. He urged instead that the order should be taken from the Temple of Jupiter Stator (Castor and Pollux) at Rome, which was 'allowed to be amongst the finest specimens of the Corinthian order'. Soane made drawing 93 to compare the two orders in the context of the new building.
The order of the Temple of Jupiter Stator (Castor and Pollux) was much more elaborate than that of the Temple of Vesta - Soane described it as 'the richest order in all the remains of Antiquity' in contrast to the 'plain example of the Corinthian order' of Tivoli. The entablature on drawing 93 is therefore much taller and increases the height of the building by around 2½ feet. This would inevitably add to the cost of the building. Soane restated his argument - with new drawings - in front of the Special Committee in 1828 (q.v. drawings 274-275).

Drawing

Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation

If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk