Review for student magazine- The Sir John Soane Museum

Holborn’s Hidden Treasure Chest- The Sir John Soane Museum

Nestled in a quiet terrace on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Field, the Sir John Soane Museum preserves the personal art and architectural collections of its namesake, who was Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy, and famously designed the Bank of England. At the time of Soane’s death in 1837, the house museum was preserved in a kind of time warp for the benefit of the public, just as Soane intended.

Entering via a darkened hallway into a succession of rooms crammed with curiosities, no space is left untouched by this eccentric perfectionist. In the grand library hangs the celebrated portrait of Soane by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Exploring further back through the hushed rooms, each nook and cranny is covered in fragments of Classical architecture, columns, busts of Gods and emperors, death masks and other treasures of antiquity that Soane collected over the years. Linger in the Picture Room and one of the guides will pull back two of the walls to reveal even more treasures hidden behind. Here Soane shows off three Venetian scenes by Canaletto, and perhaps most famously, A Rakes Progress, by William Hogarth. This fascinating series caricaturing the follies and vices of the upper classes is reason enough to visit the house in my opinion. Being able to get nose-to-glass close, a rare treat.

Under the grand dome in the centre of the house, a cast of the Apollo Belvedere looks out over the colossal sarcophagus of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I, with the full-length figure of the goddess Nut carved on the base. This priced artefact was brought from the famous Egyptologist Giovanni Belzoni for the grand sum of £2000 in 1824. Down in the crypt, the lighting is dimmed and people look around in near silence, awed at how different Soane’s little world is, away from the hustle and bustle of the London streets. Amongst more busts, death masks and models of Classical beauty, a grim pair of shackles hang on the wall, a reminder of Soane’s work as an abolitionist.

The collection itself is in the middle of an extensive seven million pound renovation period, which will finish in 2014 and open up eight more rooms that have never before been made public. These will include Soane’s and his wives private apartments as well as the Ante Room, filled with almost two hundred more works of Classical art. Thanks to a well-kept archive, the rooms can be set out as though Soane never left.

One of the many things that make this museum special is how unlike a traditional museum it feels like. This is no clinical space, constructed and then taken down by curators every few months. Exploring this house, you can see how Soane’s collection naturally evolved; although it still seems extraordinary that people actually lived amongst these art works. Another blessing, there are perhaps no more than ten labels on the objects, so you have the time to look around you properly. With you phone switched off and bags put away, it really feels as though Soane could have left yesterday, or that you have travelled back in time. What is more, each first Tuesday evening of the month, you can wander the rooms by candlelight. The fact that the museum is free, and a tens minutes walk from Russell Square, means there really is no excuse not to take advantage of this fascinating collection of artefacts on our doorstep.

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday inclusive, 10am to 5pm. Also first Tuesday of each month 6-9pm.