About the talk
This talk will focus on the various symbols taken from the pantheon of Roman gods and goddesses that Henrietta Howard chose to employ within the decorative scheme of her villa. Many of these deities represented episodes in the eventful life of Henrietta herself. From the carved owls of Minerva in the panels of The Great Room to the peacocks of Juno in two console tables; from the shells of Venus above the mahogany staircase to the marble mask of Apollo, Henrietta surrounded herself with symbols which exemplified to her friends and guests her erudition, social status and taste.
About the speaker
Ricky Pound is an experienced Visitor Operations Manager of historic properties in west London. Between 1998 and 2014 he was the Site Manager for English Heritage of Lord Burlington’s Neo-Classical villa at Chiswick and between 2011 and 2014 he managed Marble Hill House with its 66-acre park. He has worked at Orleans House Gallery where he researched the historic interiors of the Octagon room and curated a show on the Swiss pastellist Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-89) together with a major exhibition focused on the Georgian garden designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown as part of a series of national tricentennial celebrations of his birth in 1716. Between 2018 and 2021 Ricky was House Director of the artist Joseph Mallord William Turner’s suburban villa in Twickenham. Shortly after joining he organised its first ever exhibition of original Turner oil paintings which was officially opened by Sir David Attenborough at Ricky’s invitation. In November 2022 Ricky joined The Twickenham Museum as House Manager. Ricky is also an original trustee of the London Luminaries.
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