Private passions
The Art Gallery of South Australia’s sumptuous
and exclusive new exhibition, Empires & Splendour: The
David Roche Collection offers visitors the chance to immerse
themselves in old-world opulence 
and
grandeur through 100 luxury decorative arts objects from 18th
and 19th century France, Britain, Russia and Germany.
The private collection - belonging to Adelaide collector
David Roche - has never been publicly displayed before.
“The David Roche Collection, with its remarkable
breadth and quality, is testament to one man’s lifelong
passion and commitment to collecting, displaying and sharing art
and beauty,” says Christopher Menz, Director of the Art
Gallery of South Australia and co-curator of the exhibition.
Among the highlights in Empires & Splendour
is exquisite porcelain by Chelsea, Meissen, Worcester and Sèvres,
luxurious bronze and gilded metalware, and sumptuous objects by
Fabergé. Also on display is furniture by leading designers
Thomas Hope, Chippendale the Younger and George Bullock, along
with paintings and sculpture by important artists of the period.
A number of works in the Roche Collection boast
connections to some of the most famous figures in history, and
to a raft of aristocrats from across Europe.
Some
of the many objects with fascinating provenance include: Napoleon
Bonaparte’s flintlock pistol; Catherine the Great’s
armchair; plates from a dinner service owned by the Duke of Gloucester,
brother of George III; and a fashionable kangaroo-themed plate
given as part of a dinner service by Empress Josephine and Napoleon,
to his sister Pauline on her marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese.
Accompanying this splendid exhibition is an appropriately
lavish book, featuring detailed images of the David Roche Collection,
beyond just those selected for display at the Art Gallery.
