The Revenge of Jenkins' Venus
In a previous article we told the story of the Jenkins Venus, but a new chapter has been added to the lady's story. After leaving Newby Hall in Yorkshire, she was sold by Christies for a staggering £7,926,650 to a certain Sheikh Saud of Qatar who, it seems, was sufficiently in love with the lady that he was prepared to compromise his Islamic principles and transgress the law against graven images.
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| The Jenkins Venus appears not to like her new home in the sandy wastes of Qatar! |
The British government intervened by refusing to grant an export licence until all avenues had been explored of keeping the lady in Britain, but when no one else had that sort of money, the licence was eventually granted and Jenkins' Venus was packed up and sent out to Qatar.
It seems, however, that the lady preferred her Adams niche in Newby Hall over her prospects in a haram, no matter how rich the sheikh - and Sheikh Saud is certainly rich! Like any offended woman - hell hath no fury, etc - she took a horrible revenge.
In February of this year Sheikh Saud was arrested by the Qatar government and accused of peculation. As well as the hundreds of millions of pounds that he had spent of his own money, he was also in charge of the Qatari government's National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage and, allegedly, none too careful about that fine but important distinction between "tuam" and "meam". In fact, it is claimed that he entered into an agreement with London art dealer Oliver Hoare to receive bills for considerable sums but to actually pay significantly less, the difference going into the sheikh's capacious pockets.
One wonders if the Jenkins Venus is now wearing a slightly knowing twist to her famous smile as she stands in her palace and gazes out over the sunburned desert, and whether she dreams of cooler climes and more gracious architecture. If the sheikh escapes the traditional sharia punishments of beheading and amputation and instead has to pay a considerable fine, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Jenkins' Venus may find herself back home sooner than we might have expected.
