Accession Number

993.004

Description

A cast and patinated bronze pedestal comprised of a putto with bare chest and arms and short curly hair, his arms supporting a pillow on his head, above the pillow a flat multi-angled but essentially rectangular-shaped top, in place of the cupid's legs an ornate, four-sided shaft with a base of four ornate feet with a lion head at each of the four corners.

Narrative

This unsigned cast bronze pedestal sold from Craigdarroch’s library as lot #175 at the June, 1909 auction held by the Executors of Joan Dunsmuir’s Estate. Photographic evidence indicates that the Dunsmuirs used it in the drawing room.

It was for many years located in the Empress Hotel lobby outside an antique store and subsequently sold to Brian Ruud, a Victoria evangelist and collector. He installed a lamp on top of the pedestal, which necessitated drilling a hole (which still exists) in its top for the electrical wire.  The pedestal first came to the attention of The Castle Society in 1988, and an attempt to acquire it then was unsuccessful. Mr. Ruud later sold his house, known as “Eagles Nest”, in Victoria's Uplands neighborhood, together with the pedestal and other household effects. The buyer, a corporation, consigned the pedestal to auction. It was purchased by The Castle Society at that auction in 1993.

The pedestal is now located in the Drawing Room because the only known interior photograph of Craigdarroch taken during the Dunsmuir period of occupancy shows that the family placed it in the spot where it now sits. The photograph was published in the Victoria newspaper, The Daily Colonist on April 25, 1948 (p6). The newspaper credited the image to Mrs. John Hope. This was Elizabeth Maud Dunsmuir (1882-1962), AKA “Bessie”. The original photographic print has never been found, despite The Castle Society’s answered query directed to Mrs. Hope’s son, Edward James Hope (b. 1911). He did not know what happened to the photograph.

History of Use

This pedestal was used by the Dunsmuir family in Craigdarroch until its sale as lot #175 at Joan Dunsmuir’s Executor’s auction on June 21, 1909. During the mid-20th century, the pedestal was, according to two independent sources (Brian Ruud, the third owner of the pedestal, and Amy Robb, a retired Empress Hotel antique dealer and member of Craigdarroch’s Furnishings Committee in the 1980s), displayed at the doorway of an antique shop housed in Victoria’s Empress Hotel. In the early 1980s it was in the Oak Bay, B.C.residence (3125 Beach Drive) of evangelist Brian Ruud. The house was subsequently purchased by a corporation, and then the pedestal was consigned by them to Victoria’s Kilshaw’s auctioneers. The Castle's curator noticed it in the auction house's window, and it was purchased by The Castle Society at the sale on May 6, 1993.

Date

1890

Dimensions

109.9 x 35.8 x 35.8 cm

Material

Metal, bronze

Technique

Cast