Please note that a weekend road closure is operating on the A41 from 4th-6th October, with diversions in place. Please check your route before travelling.

Baron's room
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Explore Waddesdon online

Travel online to an art lover's paradise

Waddesdon is an art lover’s paradise. Step into Waddesdon online and experience the most complete surviving example of le goût Rothschild with our online trails, virtual tours and blogs.

Travel online to an art lover's paradise Go to... Paintings Ceramics Furniture Books Modern art Top

Watch an introduction to our art collections

With more than 15,000 works of art and objects, the collection ranges widely in date, materials and techniques, and places of production.

Explore virtually the collection of your choice below.

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Beautiful backdrops for your virtual meetings

Add a touch of glamour to your online meetings. Download lavish interiors and gardens as your background.

Choose your backdrop

Paintings

What's in the collection?

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Virtual Tour: Red Drawing Room

The Red Drawing Room is the central room of the house, connecting the main door with the formal gardens to the south. Get up close to portraits by Reynolds and Gainsborough and zoom in to see the ceiling painting of Hercules.

Tour virtually >

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Trail: Joshua Reynolds

Waddesdon has an exceptional collection of 14 paintings by the prolific painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds. Witness the range of his achievement, which prompted Thomas Gainsborough to declare: ‘Damn the man, how various he is!’

Joshua Reynolds digital trail on Smartify >

Sketch for a Portrait of Madame de Pompadour, Francois Boucher. Photo (c) Waddesdon Image Library, Public Catalogue Foundation

Video: Madame de Pompadour in the Frame

François Boucher’s famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour (1756) is today one of the most prized paintings on display at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, yet this monumental portrait was once owned by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.

How Factum Foundation’s digitally reproduced the portrait >

Ceramics, enamels and glass

What's in the collection?

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Virtual Tour: Green Boudoir

Discover the rococo clock decorated with porcelain flowers from the Vincennes factory and Meissen figures. Next search for the ‘ciocca’ glass chandelier, from the Venetian island of Murano.

Tour virtually >

Sèvres ship vase in the White Drawing Room

Blog: I saw three Sèvres ships

Waddesdon Manor is the only place in the world where you can see three ship vases. Last Christmas we displayed them together for the first time in the White Drawing Room.

Read about our Sèvres ships >

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Video: Kate Malone

Watch this short film about ceramic artist Kate Malone in residence – her inspiration and making processes in preparation for her 2016 exhibition here.

Kate Malone Inspired by Waddesdon >

Furniture

What's in the collection?

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Blog: Fantastic furniture & where to find it

Every May we host open furniture month, where our experts offer you the chance to see inside some beautiful pieces. Read about one of our guide’s favourite few.

Read about our fantastic furniture >

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Blog: Conserving the Dubois desk

This large black lacquer desk has been reinstalled after a two year project to conserve the degrading lacquer and clean the gilt-bronze mounts.

Read about the conservation process >

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Video: Marie Antoinette's writing table

Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, used this exquisite writing table at the Petit Trianon, the small palace she used as a retreat from the court at Versailles.

Marie Antoinette’s writing table >

Books, manuscripts and portfolios

What's in the collection?

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Virtual Tour: Small Library

Ferdinand housed his collection of contemporary 19th-century books in English, French and German in this room. The principal focus was historical works, background to the lectures he gave locally.

Tour virtually >

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Read: The Legend of Samandel

Ferdinand de Rothschild was also a prolific author, publishing memoirs and articles about history and art. He even wrote fiction, including The Legend of Samandel which he claimed to have translated from a mysterious manuscript.

Read the manuscript online >

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Zoom: Almanac for the year 1688

Use the magnifying glass symbols and mouse scroll to zoom in to The Catholic Faith Triumphant for more detail and click on the blue spots for more information and translations.

Glorious Years: French Calendars from Louis XIV to the Revolution >

Modern & contemporary art

What's in the collection?

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Blog: Royal College of Art students create Waddesdon-inspired ceramics

Waddesdon has a strong track record of working with artists and students, through our contemporary art and exhibition programme. Encouraging creative responses to the place and its collections, enabling them to be seen in a new light.

Read our blog >

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Online Audio Trail: Sculpture

This trail begins with Lafite (2015), a commission from the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos and features another artwork by the French sculptor Xavier Veilhan based on a reduced version of La Carosse, a piece commissioned for Versailles.

Listen to our audio sculpture trail >

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Video: Kate Malone at Waddesdon

Kate Malone, one of Britain’s most highly regarded ceramic artists, created over 50 ceramic pieces in response to the gardens, archives, collections and people at Waddesdon Manor, the Waddesdon Estate and the Pavilion at Eythrope.

Read how Kate Malone was inspired at Waddesdon >