Masterpiece of the Week: Bust of Tsar Alexander III, 1900

Bust of Tsar Alexander III
1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII (1844-1925), acquired this bust by Fabergé of Tsar Alexander III. The miniature bust, dating to 1900, is carved of smoky quartz and mounted on a column of nephrite applied with the imperial double-headed eagle. Obviously, the portrait was created after the Tsar’s death in 1894.

The piece was central to Queen Alexandra’s collection of Fabergé miniatures. Her Majesty was the Tsar’s sister-in-law. It’s possible that the bust was a gift to her from the Dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.

Another bust of Alexander III, cast in gold, was included as the “surprise” inside Fabergé’s Alexander III Commemorative Egg, given to Maria Feodorovna at Easter 1909 by Tsar Nicholas II.

The Tsar and Tsarina frequently visited with their British royal relations, showing close dynastic ties, in England, Russia or Denmark. Queen Victoria recorded such a visit paid by Alexander III (then the Tsarevich) and Maria Feodorovna (Minny) in her Journal on July 1, 1873:

“The Csarevitch led me in [to dinner], as 36 years ago his Grandfather, the Emperor Nicholas had done. He is very goodnatured. I wore the Russian order, & sat between him & Minny.” 

Victoria is said to have mourned deeply when she received word from the new Tsar Nicholas II, that his father, Alexander II, had died. He wrote “dearest beloved father has been taken from us. He gently went to sleep.”

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Boxwood Bust, 1380-1400

Bust
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the Victoria & Albert Museum, we see a boxwood bust of a female figure with elaborate coiffure. She wears a gilt copper crown set with three red garnets (two of them faceted and one cabochon, the faceted stones are not original) and topped with five naturalistic leaf crests. The bust is displayed on a base which is also of gilt copper, supported by three seated lions . The base is set with two amethysts (originally three), which are also faceted, and therefore, are also replacements. The base contains a small cavity for a relic which would have been associated with the martyred virgin saint—whoever she was—who is depicted here. 

Boxwood figures like this one were popular from the 1350s onwards and have a sculptor to showcase his talents in a rare material which would have appealed to his wealthy patrons.

Sculpture of the Day: Bust of Tsar Alexander III, 1900

Bust of Tsar Alexander III
1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII (1844-1925), acquired this bust by Fabergé of Tsar Alexander III. The miniature bust, dating to 1900, is carved of smoky quartz and mounted on a column of nephrite applied with the imperial double-headed eagle. Obviously, the portrait was created after the Tsar’s death in 1894.

The piece was central to Queen Alexandra’s collection of Fabergé miniatures. Her Majesty was the Tsar’s sister-in-law. It’s possible that the bust was a gift to her from the Dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.

Another bust of Alexander III, cast in gold, was included as the “surprise” inside Fabergé’s Alexander III Commemorative Egg, given to Maria Feodorovna at Easter 1909 by Tsar Nicholas II.

The Tsar and Tsarina frequently visited with their British royal relations, showing close dynastic ties, in England, Russia or Denmark. Queen Victoria recorded such a visit paid by Alexander III (then the Tsarevich) and Maria Feodorovna (Minny) in her Journal on July 1, 1873:

“The Csarevitch led me in [to dinner], as 36 years ago his Grandfather, the Emperor Nicholas had done. He is very goodnatured. I wore the Russian order, & sat between him & Minny.” 

Victoria is said to have mourned deeply when she received word from the new Tsar Nicholas II, that his father, Alexander II, had died. He wrote “dearest beloved father has been taken from us. He gently went to sleep.”

Sculpture of the Day: A Parian Bust of Llewellynn Jewitt, 1879

Bust of Llewellynn Jewitt
W.H. Goss
Circa 1879
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Llewellynn Jewitt was a celebrated Nineteenth Century pioneer of ceramic history. So, fittingly, this portrait bust of Jewitt is crafted of parian. The bust rests on a turned pedestal and depicts Jewitt at the end of his life, in 1879, with his trademark long, forked beard.

Designs for the bust date to 1878. It was made by W.H. Goss in Stoke-on-Trent, England, known for its parian ware. The base is inscribed:

This bust of Llewellynn Jewitt F.S.A. etc. etc. was made expressly for presentation to his son, - Mr Edwin Augustus George Jewitt - on the occasion of his 21st birthday, the 13th October 1879, as a mark of the highest esteem for both, by their devoted friend 

--William Henry Goss

Sculpture of the Day: A Bust in Classical Style by Joseph Gott, 1830-1840

Bust of an Unknown Man
Joseph Gott, 1830-1840
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Well-regarded sculptor Joseph Gott (1786-1860) served his apprenticeship under John Flaxman between 1798 and 1802. By 1819, he had won a gold medal at the Royal Academy for a marble group of "Jacob Wrestling with an Angel."  According to the V&A, "He exhibited at the British Institution in 1821 and 1822, and at the Royal Academy between 1820 and 1848. In 1822 he moved to Rome, where he stayed for the rest of his life, though he returned to Britain regularly to meet his patrons and gain commissions."

Gott preferred the Roman style over the austere neo-Greek style which seemed too scientific to him.  Gott's work was idealized, but unheroic, relying on the pastoral and romantic.  This bust of an unknown man, for example, shows Gott's appreciation for creating soft, sensual portraits.  While others during this era were striving to create heroic monuments, Gott preferred to let a the natural beauty of both subject and material endure for all time.  

Figure of the Day: The Duke of York in Staffordshire Porcelain, 1810-20

Bust of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Earl of Ulster
Staffordshire, 1810-1820
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Staffordshire, England, between 1810-1820, this bust of lead-glazed Earthenware depicts the Duke of York and is marked as such. This piece pre-dates the flatback pieces which made Staffordshire porcelain famous.

At this time, the Duke of York was Prince Frederick of the House of Hanover who was also styled as the Earl of Ulster.

Object of the Day: The Boxwood Bust, 1380-1400

Bust
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the Victoria & Albert Museum, we see a boxwood bust of a female figure with elaborate coiffure. She wears a gilt copper crown set with three red garnets (two of them faceted and one cabochon, the faceted stones are not original) and topped with five naturalistic leaf crests. The bust is displayed on a base which is also of gilt copper, supported by three seated lions . The base is set with two amethysts (originally three), which are also faceted, and therefore, are also replacements. The base contains a small cavity for a relic which would have been associated with the martyred virgin saint—whoever she was—who is depicted here. 

Boxwood figures like this one were popular from the 1350s onwards and have a sculptor to showcase his talents in a rare material which would have appealed to his wealthy patrons.

Sculpture of the Day: A Bust of the Duchess of Teck, c. 1857

Bust of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck
Baron Carlo Marochetti, 1857
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Sculpted in 1857 by the Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-1868), this marble bust depicts Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the Duchess of Teck (1833-97).

The bust was commissioned as a gift from the Duchess of Teck to her friend Lady Marian Alford. As was often the case with objects related to the Royal Family, many decades later, Queen Mary managed to get the Alford family to return the bust to the Royal Collection. Her Majesty wrote of the bust thusly when entering it into her catalog: 

Marble bust of the Duchess of Teck, as a young woman with roses in her hair and double string of pearls around her neck.  She looks to her right.

The catalog also contains a notation copied from the memoirs of the Duchess of Teck wherein Princess Mary Adelaide describes her delight at her visits to Marochetti’s studio in June of 1857 to sit for the bust. Queen Mary, after being introduced to the sculptor by her mother, had long been an admirer of Marochetti who had been one of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s favorite sculptors and from whom they commissioned fifteen works.

Years after this bust was created and, then, returned to the Royal Family, when Marochetti’s grandson visited Buckingham Palace, Queen Mary took delight in showing off this bust—her favorite—to the young man, making sure that he knew how much his grandfather’s work was appreciated and that the bust was one of the highlights of her monumental collection. 

Gifts of Grandeur: Bust of Tsar Alexander III, 1900

Bust of Tsar Alexander III
1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII (1844-1925), acquired this bust by Fabergé of Tsar Alexander III. The miniature bust, dating to 1900, is carved of smoky quartz and mounted on a column of nephrite applied with the imperial double-headed eagle. Obviously, the portrait was created after the Tsar’s death in 1894.

The piece was central to Queen Alexandra’s collection of Fabergé miniatures. Her Majesty was the Tsar’s sister-in-law. It’s possible that the bust was a gift to her from the Dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.

Another bust of Alexander III, cast in gold, was included as the “surprise” inside Fabergé’s Alexander III Commemorative Egg, given to Maria Feodorovna at Easter 1909 by Tsar Nicholas II.

The Tsar and Tsarina frequently visited with their British royal relations, showing close dynastic ties, in England, Russia or Denmark. Queen Victoria recorded such a visit paid by Alexander III (then the Tsarevich) and Maria Feodorovna (Minny) in her Journal on July 1, 1873:

“The Csarevitch led me in [to dinner], as 36 years ago his Grandfather, the Emperor Nicholas had done. He is very goodnatured. I wore the Russian order, & sat between him & Minny.” 

Victoria is said to have mourned deeply when she received word from the new Tsar Nicholas II, that his father, Alexander II, had died. He wrote “dearest beloved father has been taken from us. He gently went to sleep.”

Sculpture of the Day: Mrs Freeman as Isis, 1789

Mrs. Freeman as Isis
England, 1789
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Just smaller than life-size, this bust is both a portrait of one Mrs Freeman, a good friend of the artist who lived in nearby Fawley Court, Buckinghamshire, and an allegorical depiction of a priestess of the Egyptian god Isis.

The sculptor, Anne Seymour Damer, curiously signed the bust in Greek lettering, which can be translated as “ANNA S. DAMER THE LONDONER MADE IT.” Anne Seymour Damer was the wife of the Hon. John Damer from 1767 until his suicide. After this shock, she trained as a sculptor.

Damer was a cousin of Horace Walpole (1717-1797), who encouraged his cousin’s artistic inclinations/. Walpole bequeathed his country house, Strawberry Hill at Twickenham, to Damer and her sister.

Damer practiced as an amateur--being an aristocratic woman, unable to pursue a real career in the arts. Because of this, she was not given the recognition she deserved. However, she did exhibit at the Royal Academy from 1784 to 1818 and also entertained “careers” as a novelist and stage performer.

The model here--Damer's good friend Mrs. Freeman was mentioned in the diary of a contemporary - the artist Joseph Farington (1747-1821) - as the mistress of the author and engraver Samuel Ireland.

Sculpture of the Day: A Parian Bust of Llewellynn Jewitt, 1879

Bust of Llewellynn Jewitt
W.H. Goss
Circa 1879
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Llewellynn Jewitt was a celebrated Nineteenth Century pioneer of ceramic history. So, fittingly, this portrait bust of Jewitt is crafted of parian. The bust rests on a turned pedestal and depicts Jewitt at the end of his life, in 1879, with his trademark long, forked beard.

Designs for the bust date to 1878. It was made by W.H. Goss in Stoke-on-Trent, England, known for its parian ware. The base is inscribed:

This bust of Llewellynn Jewitt F.S.A. etc. etc. was made expressly for presentation to his son, - Mr Edwin Augustus George Jewitt - on the occasion of his 21st birthday, the 13th October 1879, as a mark of the highest esteem for both, by their devoted friend 

--William Henry Goss

Sculpture of the Day: A Wax Bust of George Harry Grey, c. 1850

Earl of Stamford
Richard Cockle Lucas
Nineteenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This bust is carved from wax and dates to the middle of the Nineteenth Century. The sculpture depicts George Harry Grey, Seventh Earl of Stamford (1827-1883) and it was sculpted by Richard Cockle Lucas (1800-1883).

The Earl of Stamford is depicted as a boy. Oddly enough, he’s shown wearing a corset around which a piece of drapery has been wound. His name “Earl of Stamford” is inscribed on the back.

Sculpture of the Day: Admiral Sir Henry Keppel, c. 1900

Admiral Sir Henry Keppel
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

If the name Keppel seems familiar, it might be because Alice Keppel was a favorite mistress of King Edward VII, and an ancestor of the present Duchess of Cornwall. One of Alice’s more famous relations was Admiral Sir Henry Keppel who also served King Edward VII, just in a different way. The Admiral also served under Queen Victoria.

This marble bust depicts Admiral Sir Henry Keppel (1809-1904) in his full dress uniform. It’s the work of Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Count Gleichen, 3rd son of Ernest of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1833-1891) and was made for Queen Victoria. It remains in the Royal Collection.

Sculpture of the Day: Bust of a Boy, c. 1750

Crying Boy
Germany, c. 1750
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Germany around 1750, this bust of ivory is the work of Johann Christian Ludwig von Lücke (1703 - 1780). This is one of several ivory bust created by the artist which depict disconsolate children. Von Lücke excelled at showing the physical manifestation of emotion. For example, look at the face of the child here. His teeth, gums and tongue are visible, tears forming in his eyes and his nose is running. To create the look of fluid with a solid medium and one as layered as ivory is quite exceptional.

The bust is signed on the back, '”L. von. Lücke.” Aside from his ivory carving (a family tradition, actually), he famously worked as a modeler in the Meissen factory before travelling around Germany, working in various towns until his death. 

Sculpture of the Day: A Bust of the Duchess of Teck, c. 1857

Bust of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck
Baron Carlo Marochetti, 1857
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Sculpted in 1857 by the Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-1868), this marble bust depicts Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the Duchess of Teck (1833-97).

The bust was commissioned as a gift from the Duchess of Teck to her friend Lady Marian Alford. As was often the case with objects related to the Royal Family, many decades later, Queen Mary managed to get the Alford family to return the bust to the Royal Collection. Her Majesty wrote of the bust thusly when entering it into her catalog:

Marble bust of the Duchess of Teck, as a young woman with roses in her hair and double string of pearls around her neck.  She looks to her right.

The catalog also contains a notation copied from the memoirs of the Duchess of Teck wherein Princess Mary Adelaide describes her delight at her visits to Marochetti’s studio in June of 1857 to sit for the bust. Queen Mary, after being introduced to the sculptor by her mother, had long been an admirer of Marochetti who had been one of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s favorite sculptors and from whom they commissioned fifteen works.

Years after this bust was created and, then, returned to the Royal Family, when Marochetti’s grandson visited Buckingham Palace, Queen Mary took delight in showing off this bust—her favorite—to the young man, making sure that he knew how much his grandfather’s work was appreciated and that the bust was one of the highlights of her monumental collection. 

Figure of the Day: The Duke of York in Staffordshire Porcelain, 1810-20

Bust of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Earl of Ulster
Staffordshire, 1810-1820
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Staffordshire, England, between 1810-1820, this bust of lead-glazed Earthenware depicts the Duke of York and is marked as such. This piece pre-dates the flatback pieces which made Staffordshire porcelain famous.

At this time, the Duke of York was Prince Frederick of the House of Hanover who was also styled as the Earl of Ulster.

Mastery of Design: A Gold and Diamond Bust of King George IV, 1810-20

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Always a sucker for the latest fashion both as Prince Regent and as King, George IV spared little expense on any luxury. Take for instance this wee bust His Majesty had commissioned of himself in gold set with diamonds to emulate his garter star.

Made about 1810, this shows the roguish king's propensity for lavish accessories.

Object of the Day: The Boxwood Bust, 1380-1400

Bust
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the Victoria & Albert Museum, we see a boxwood bust of a female figure with elaborate coiffure. She wears a gilt copper crown set with three red garnets (two of them faceted and one cabochon, the faceted stones are not original) and topped with five naturalistic leaf crests. The bust is displayed on a base which is also of gilt copper, supported by three seated lions . The base is set with two amethysts (originally three), which are also faceted, and therefore, are also replacements. The base contains a small cavity for a relic which would have been associated with the martyred virgin saint—whoever she was—who is depicted here.
boxwood figures like this one were popular from the 1350s onwards and have a sculptor to showcase his talents in a rare material which would have appealed to his wealthy patrons.

Sculpture of the Day: Mrs Freeman as Isis, 1789

Mrs. Freeman as Isis
England, 1789
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Just smaller than life-size, this bust is both a portrait of one Mrs Freeman, a good friend of the artist who lived in nearby Fawley Court, Buckinghamshire, and an allegorical depiction of a priestess of the Egyptian god Isis.


The sculptor, Anne Seymour Damer, curiously signed the bust in Greek lettering, which can be translated as “ANNA S. DAMER THE LONDONER MADE IT.” Anne Seymour Damer was the wife of the Hon. John Damer from 1767 until his suicide. After this shock, she trained as a sculptor.

Damer was a cousin of Horace Walpole (1717-1797), who encouraged his cousin’s artistic inclinations/. Walpole bequeathed his country house, Strawberry Hill at Twickenham, to Damer and her sister.

Damer practiced as an amateur--being an aristocratic woman, unable to pursue a real career in the arts. Because of this, she was not given the recognition she deserved. However, she did exhibit at the Royal Academy from 1784 to 1818 and also entertained “careers” as a novelist and stage performer.

The model here--Damer's good friend Mrs was mentioned in the diary of a contemporary - the artist Joseph Farington (1747-1821) - as the mistress of the author and engraver Samuel Ireland.

Sculpture of the Day: A Bust of King George V in Naval Uniform, 1914

Bust of King George V
in Naval Uniform
James Stevenson, 1914
The Royal Collection

This bust from 1914 is the work of the celebrated sculptor James Stevenson and depicts King George V looking quite sturdy in his Naval uniform as Britain was gripped by the chaos and tragedy of the Great War.

James Stevenson, who was known for his portrait busts, was trained in sculpture at the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. This particular bust of the King was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915. Stevenson often signed his works in a peculiar way. This is evidenced on this bust which shows the sculptor’s usual signature MYRANDER. The word is a conflation of his wife’s Christian name and his own second Christian name.