A plaster of Paris model of Maison Carrée, c.1820s, French, attributed to Jean-Pierre and François Fouquet, raised on a mahogany stand with Perspex cover, model 10.08cm wide 23.7cm deep 12.5cm high Provenance: The Collection of Ben Weinreb (1912-1999), thence by descent to the present owner. Built in the 1st century AD in the forum of the Roman colony of Nemausus (modern-day Nîmes), the Maison Carrée is one of the earliest examples of a Roman temple which can be connected to imperial worship in the Roman provinces. It is a pseudoperipteral temple built in the Corinthian order and – according to the description given by the architectural writer Vitruvius - represents a nearly textbook example of a Roman temple A careful reconstruction of a dedicatory inscription on the temple in 1758 led scholars to believe it was built in dedication to Augustus’s two grandsons and intended heirs - Gaius and Lucius Caesar – who, prematurely deceased, were accorded the title Princes of Youth (principes juventutis). It is regarded as one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman temple dedicated to the imperial cult in the provinces of Rome and, as a result, is a testament to the period of Rome’s transition from republic to empire. A set of models by Fouquet can also be found in the collection of Sir John Soane's Museum. According to the records held by the Museum, Sir John Soane purchased twenty models by François Fouquet in 1834 from the architect Edward Cresy (1792-1858) who, from 1829-1835, worked in Paris. Soane paid Cresy the substantial sum of £100. It is likely that Cresy purchased the models directly from Fouquet et Fils.