The epic restoration of the Marble Saloon at Stowe included stabilising the plasterwork decoration of the 17 metre-high coffered dome and Roman triumphal frieze, identifying missing elements through research of historic photographs, and replacement of these with hand-modeled elements created using materials to matched the original composition. As well as carefully cleaning the marblework that gives the saloon its name, lanterns reproduced from a nineteenth century watercolour have been re-introduced, as have four ?Athenienes? ? gilded torcherers copied from two surviving originals. The Marble Saloon at Stowe is the jewel in the crown of the principle monument of the famous Landscape Gardens and its restoration one of the greatest of this generation.
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Nature and nurture in the gardens of Bramham ParkTim Richardson looks at the innovative and superbly maintained 18th-century landscape garden of Bramham Park in West Yorkshire, home of Nick and Rachel Lane Fox. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
