Trentham Estate's bronze Perseus statue moved for exhibition
- Published
Michael Walker, from the Trentham Estate explained why the bronze sculpture was being moved
A bronze sculpture is being moved for the first time in 165 years from its plinth at a Staffordshire estate to London's Royal Academy of Art.
The Trentham Estate, where the statue of Ancient Greek hero Perseus holding the head of Medusa is based, said it would only be a temporary loan.
It is being dismantled by specialists so it can travel to take part in the academy's Bronze exhibition.
The statue is a copy of one by 16th Century artist Benvenuto Cellini.
The Italian sculptor cast the original statue in Florence between 1548 and 1550 and the copy was ordered by the 2nd Duke of Sutherland in about 1840.
Since then, the 3.7m-high statue has sat at the estate's mile-long lake, which was designed by famed landscape architect Capability Brown.
Amanda Dawson, from the Trentham Estate, said it was "quite a technical job" to move the statue.
She said: "They put a lift around Perseus, lift him off first, and then the body of Medusa will follow."
The Bronze exhibition will run from 15 September to 9 December.
- Published18 February 2012