Goldfish Bowl goes on permanent display

Goldfish Bowl with a gruesome past to go on permanent display at Strawberry Hill House  

Friday 21 October

One of the most iconic and macabre objects owned by Horace Walpole (1717-1797) has been reacquired by Strawberry Hill House, thanks to the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

The beautiful, large blue and white vase achieved a certain notoriety after Walpole’s favourite cat, Selima, drowned in it while trying to catch goldfish, which the author kept in it. The incident was later immortalised in a mock-heroic ode by Walpole’s friend, the poet Thomas Gray – Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes (1747).

The cat’s death actually occurred at Walpole’s London house, in Arlington Street. The bowl, along with many other works of art, was moved to Strawberry Hill sometime in the 1760s. In 1773, Walpole commissioned a Gothic-style pedestal for the tub and a label to be affixed to it with the first stanza of the poem.

After 1778 the tub was moved to the Little Cloister, outside of the house, with the 1784 Description describing the new location: “On a pedestal, stands the large blue and white china tub in which Mr. Walpole’s cat was drowned; on a label of the pedestal is written the first stanza of Mr. Gray’s beautiful ode on that occasion, ‘Twas on this lofty vase’s side, Where China’s gayest art has dy’d. The azure flow’rs that blow, Demurest of the tabby kind, The pensive Selima reclin’d, Gaz’d on the lake below”.

Research prompted by last year’s In Focus exhibition devoted to the tub, together with the expertise required to secure its return to Strawberry Hill House, demonstrated that it is an outstanding work of art in its own right – albeit with an extraordinary backstory.

The quality of every aspect of the jardiniere is superior; from the shaping of the pot, to the glazing and firing, all demonstrate a remarkable level of artistry.

The porcelain vase will go on permanent display in the Hall at Strawberry Hill House, from Wednesday 26 October.