Skip to main content

Portrait Medallion of Dr. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802): M.18-1982

Object information

Awaiting location update

Titles

Portrait Medallion of Dr. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Portrait medallion. Plaster, cast. Tinted to resemble Wedgwood's pale blue jasper with white relief of Dr. Erasmus Darwin in profile to left. Mounted on gilt board inscribed in black 'ERASMUS DARWIN. M.D./Poet and Botanist./Born 1731.Died 1802/Author of/'The Botanic Garden'' ''The Loves of the Plants.''/''Zoonomania'' ''The Temple of Nature'' &c. &c.'. In rectangular ebonized, partly gilt frame. On the back two labels, both inscribed in faded black ink: (1) 'Presented/to the /Royal Botanic Society/of London/by/G.G. Hardingham. F.R.B.S./1881.': (2) A four line extract from 'Darwin (E) ''Temple of Nature'' Canto I.223.' and 'From lines addressed by D. Bilsborrow to Dr. Darwin.'.

Notes

History note: Formerly Wellcome Institute No. A 112466. Purchased 'Protheroe & Morris, 2/8 & 9/xii/31 (Mr Stow Royal Botanical Gardens, Regent's Park)'

Legal notes

Given by the Wellcome Trustees in accordance with the order of Mr Justice Foster

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1982) by Wellcome Trustees

Dating

19th Century
Circa 1800 - 1900

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Mount composed of gilt
Plaster Height 12.0 cm Width 9.5 cm
Frame Height 33.2 cm Width 28.3 cm
Decoration

Materials used in production

Plaster

Techniques used in production

Casting (process) : Plaster, cast, tinted to resemble pale blue jasper, mounted on gilt board

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: ERASMUS DARWIN. M.D./Poet and Botanist./Born 1731.Died 1802/Author of/'The Botanic Garden'' ''The Loves of the Plants.''/''Zoonomania'' ''The Temple of Nature'' &c. &c.
  • Location: On gilt board
  • Method of creation: In black
  • Text: Presented/to the /Royal Botanic Society/of London/by/G.G. Hardingham. F.R.B.S./1881.
  • Method of creation: Inscribed in faded black ink
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: a four line extract from 'Darwin (E) ''Temple of Nature'' Canto I.223.' and followed by six lines 'From lines addressed by D. Bilsborrow to Dr. Darwin.'.

  • Text: 'Darwin (E) ''Temple of Nature'' Canto I.223.' and 'From lines addressed by D. Bilsborrow to Dr. Darwin.'
  • Method of creation: Inscribed in faded black ink
  • Type: Label

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.18-1982
Primary reference Number: 29438
Old object number: A 112466
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 27 June 2022 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Portrait Medallion of Dr. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/29438 Accessed: 2024-11-05 21:09:04

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/29438 |title=Portrait Medallion of Dr. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 21:09:04|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-29438

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...