Bust of a Woman: C.1444-1928

Titles

Bust of a Woman

Maker(s)

Pottery: unidentified London pottery (Probably)

Entities

• Bust
• English delftware

Categories

• Tin-glazed earthenware
• English delftware

Description

Tin-glazed earthenware painted in blue, turquoise-green, yellow, and manganese-purple; inscribed 16 T/I.M 88 on the sides of the socle

Buff earthenware, press-moulded and hollow inside, tin-glazed, and painted in blue, turquoise-green, yellow, and manganese-purple. There is a glazed hole in the top of the head. The woman faces front, supported on a socle, which is closed underneath. Her features are delineated in blue, and her blue hair is drawn back into a chignon. She wears a manganese-purple necklace tied with a bow at the back, and a loose yellow and turquoise-green gown with a V neckline. The socle is inscribed 16 B/IxM 88 in blue on the sides, and has a border of foliage.

Notes

History note: Symonds of Hanway Street, London; sold to Mr Stoner, from whom purchased on 15 May, 1913 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

17th Century, Late
James II
William III and Mary II
Production date: dated AD 1688

Note

Probably made in London

This rare delftware bust was presumably made as a substitute for an expensive marble bust, but could have been based on a print. It is impossible to say if it was intended to be a specific woman. Delftware is not an ideal medium for sculpture because the glaze obscures the modelling and the painted details tend to run, as they have here, giving the woman a rather melancholy expression.

School or Style

Baroque