Sidney John Alexander Churchill (1 March 186211 January 1921), often referred to as Sidney J. A. Churchill, was a British diplomat, art connoisseur and author.

Life

He was born in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia. The union was formed on when Alexa ...

on 1 March 1862 the son of

Henry Adrian Churchill Henry Adrian Churchill CB (16 September 1828 – 12 July 1886) was an archaeological explorer of ancient Mesopotamia and a British diplomat who stopped much of the commercial slavery in Zanzibar and helped prevent a war between Zanzibar and Om ...

(182886), who was an archaeologist and British diplomat, and Marie Braniefska (?1839-1905). Three of his four brothers Harry Lionel (18601924), William Algernon (18651947), and

George Percy George Percy may refer to: *George Percy (governor) (1580–1632), English explorer, author, and early colonial governor of Virginia. * George Percy, Earl Percy (born 1984), British businessman and heir apparent to the Dukedom of Northumberland *Ge ...

(18761973) were also diplomats.Foreign Office Statement of Service 1926 In 1908 he married Stella Myers who qualified as a doctor at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

and went on to become a writer and lecturer on health questions, and a strong supporter of the

Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

. She was also a local councillor who represented South East

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

on the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. They had a son, George (born 1910), and a daughter,

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...

(191288), an architect who studied church architecture in pre-war

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and then travelled extensively in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. She documented her 20-year research in the local churches in ''Architecture of the Tigre, Ethiopia''. In 1880, at the age of 18, he joined the Persian Telegraph Department of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

, where he gained an extensive knowledge of the Persian language and of Persia (modern-day

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

). He then served as British

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in Persia (188694), and was in attendance on the

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

of Persia Naser ed-Din Shah during his visit to England in 1889, then Consul in Surinam and

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

(1894),

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

(18981909), and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

(190912), then Consul-General in Naples (191218), and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

(191821). In 1901, he was entrusted with the last message from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (; 6 February 1869 – 28 March 1926) was the Orléanist pretender to the throne of France from 1894 to 1926 as Philippe VIII. Early life Philippe was born at York House, Twickenham, near London, Middlesex, Eng ...

. He died in Paris aged 59 on 11 January 1921 on his way to England, and is buried in

Levallois-Perret Cemetery The Levallois-Perret Cemetery (, also known simply as ''Cimetière de Levallois'') is a cemetery in the Communes of France, commune of Levallois-Perret in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. Strictly speaking it is just outside Paris in the ...

in Paris .

Artistic interests

He was a collector of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

manuscripts, and of jewels, bronzes, pictures and other antiques while in Persia and Italy. After his death his extensive personal collections were auctioned at Sotheby's, who advertised ''The extensive and interestesting collection of continental & Near Eastern works of art, textiles & embroideries, Italian and Sicilian objects of vertu, knives, forks, spoons, silver and enamels and the valuable and well-known collection of peasant jewellery, the property of the late Sidney J. A. Churchill, Esq.'' From 188094, he collected Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Hebrew manuscripts for the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

(Vol. IV of their Persian Catalogue of Manuscripts is almost entirely devoted to the 'Churchill Manuscripts'); collected art objects in Persia for the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

under Gen. Sir R. M. Smith, RE, KCMG, and also researched the history of gold and silver work in Italy, especially the

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land are ...

. He wrote many books, particularly on Italian goldsmiths, in both English and Italian. He also had letters relating to artistic matters published in ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation s ...

''.

Selected works

* * A bibliography of

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

. * * * A bibliography of

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

. * * * * * In the collection of the

Getty Research Institute The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts".

. * In the collection of the Getty Research Institute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Sidney J. A. 1862 births 1921 deaths Consuls for the United Kingdom British art historians British people in colonial India People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia