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Dogs of Waddesdon
From poodles to pugs, we're celebrating the dogs of Waddesdon and sharing some of our favourites from the collections to mark #InternationalDogDay
1. Poupon
Poupon was the beloved pet poodle of Baron Ferdinand who built Waddesdon. He was very well trained and would perform tricks for guests, such as a series of jumps over a course set up in the East Gallery. Ferdinand even commissioned a portrait of Poupon and he is buried in the Manor garden, you can still see his grave stone on Ash Tree Walk today.
2. Spoony
Baron Ferdinand also had a Boston Terrier named Spoony. We don’t know much about him but we do have this carved statuette of him in our collections!
3. Miss Alice’s pugs
Alice de Rothschild, sister of Baron Ferdinand, loved animals and was especially fond of pugs which she kept as pets. She’s pictured here with her dogs in the gardens of her home at Eythrope.
4. Snuff box in the form of a pug
Miss Alice’s love of pugs extended to her collection, and we have several objects in the shape of pugs at Waddesdon, such as this snuffbox. Carved from amethystine quartz, the natural mauve colour of the stone has been cleverly used to mimic the colouring of the animal’s muzzle.
5. Madame de Pompadour’s pets
This snuffbox is made of Sèvres porcelain plaques which once belonged to Madame de Pompadour. The plaque on the lid depicts her two pet dogs, Bébé and Mimi, after the overdoor painting she commissioned from Jean-Jacques Bachelier.
5. Muffin
In 1913, Léon Bakst created a set of paintings for James and Dorothy de Rothschild. Depicting the story of Sleeping Beauty, Dorothy’s pet dog Muffin was used as a model and appears in the final panel showing the Princess waking!
6. Dorothy’s dogs
Just like Ferdinand and Alice, Dorothy adored dogs and kept them throughout her life. In the collections at Waddesdon, there are many photos featuring her pet dogs and one even appears on a Christmas card!
7. Furry friends
Today, we love welcoming dogs at Waddesdon and seeing the photos our visitors share. If you’d like to share your photos with us, tag us @WaddesdonManor on Facebook and Twitter, @waddesdonmanor_nt on Instagram or use #DogsOfWaddesdon – we’d love to see them!
