The sculpture of Venus was previously in the Barberini collection, during which time its left leg and the support were added.
[2] The Barberini Venus was purchased in 1763 by Gavin Hamilton, a Scottish connoisseur in Rome who acted as guide to the British milordi.
A customs declaration, intended to speed its export from the papal dominions, details the extensive restorations it had undergone in Jenkins' care.
[3] Weddell returned to Newby in the summer of 1765 and commissioned first the Yorkshire architect John Carr and then, in 1766, Robert Adam to design a suitable gallery for the sculptures and other antiquities he had purchased in Rome.
After the auction, export was delayed while a vain attempt was made to match the bid of Sheikh Saud-al-Thani, cousin of the Emir of Qatar, where the Weddell Venus currently resides.