When John Soane, a renowned professor of architecture at the Royal Academy in London, taught artistic and scientific principles of construction in the early 19th century, he used architectural models created by master designer Francois Fouquet.
Twenty of the rarest and most beautiful models in plaster details of famous monuments of ancient Greece, Rome and the Middle East are watching "Wonders of the Ancient World: Masterpieces Francois Fouquet model", which runs September 24: Sir John Soane's Museum (13 Lincoln Inn Fields, 44-20 - 744-0426; www.soane.org). A collection provides a fascinating documentation of historically significant architecture, and insights into how English is included in the architectural principles for their own buildings.
"My favorite," said Jerzy Kierkuc-Bielinski, chief curator of the museum, "is the Temple of Neptune in Palmyra. It could be a miniature skyscraper. This is an amazing sculptural decoration, it looks like a cake."
The models also include representations of the Temple of Venus at Baalbek, the Parthenon, Hadrian's Arch and the Tower of Winds in Athens, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Vesta Tivoli Gardens, the Pantheon and the Temple of Fortuna Virilla in Rome.
Each is built on a metal armature, solid wood base and a closed glass domes. (Although it can occur, Fouquet, the model of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Capitol).
The museum has commissioned a limited edition copies of the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli by the British champion Tim Rogers, which can be purchased online at the museum shop or the museum.
The museum is free, open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00 pm the first Tuesday of each month until 21 hours
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