February 18, 1753

Robert Clive (September 25, 1725 to November 22, 1774) was a major figure in the creation of British India. His military feats brought him fame and some fortune. Margaret Maskelyne was the sister of the man who became the Astronomer Royal in Britain. Clive met her through her brother and married her in India on February 18, 1753.

Margaret died in 1817, outliving her husband by some decades. Five of their children survived to adulthood.

Here is a portrait of her.



Lady Clive was fond of cats, we learn from an article at the national trust website, where the treasures at Powis Castle, are listed. The castle came under the Clive aegis due to a marriage between the Clive and Powis families in 1784. So it is not surprising that this cat of Margaret's is there now.



It is quite old:

Representations of cats are rare in Roman art and the Powis example is unique amongst surviving classical sculpture. It is carved from marble quarried on the Greek island of Thasos which is distinctive for the large crystals embedded in it, giving it a reflective quality, but making it very hard to work.

The story of how Margaret Clive got this statue is charming:

Clive wrote to his wife in 1774 mentioning this sculpture and that it was “out of reach of money” but he would acquire it “Coute qui coute” [whatever the cost], and so he did.


It must have been one of her husband's last gifts to her.