Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
this little-visited mansion makes you nostalgic for the days of the empire. While this col-
lection would be a big deal in a mid-sized city, it's small potatoes here in London...but
thoroughly enjoyable.
Cost and Hours:
Free, daily 10:00-17:00, audioguide-
£
3, free guided tours or lec-
tures almost daily at 11:30 and 14:30—call to confirm times, just north of Oxford
Street on Manchester Square, Tube: Bond Street. Tel. 020/7563-9500,
Visiting the Museum:
The manageable collection is displayed on three floors. As
you enter the ground floor, on the right you'll find drawing rooms filled with medieval
relics, and to the left (through the gift shop) are the collections of Oriental and European
armor. Then head up the red-carpeted grand staircase to the upper floor, devoted mostly to
artwork.
In the Oval Drawing Room, look for the small but symbolism-packed Rococo mas-
terpiece
The Swing
(1767), by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. The woman is being pulled
on the swing by her husband. He's on the right, hidden in shadows, literally “in the
dark”—unaware that his wife is having an affair with the man hiding in the bushes on the
left. The rascal holds his arm erect as he peeps up this swinging lady's skirt and watches
her shoe fly off, symbolizing sexual abandon.
