Hand-Carved Busts

A very well execute female bust in the late 19th century taste, by Florentine sculptor Giovanni Focardi ( signed and dated). Born in Florence and studied under Enrico Pazzi. He moved to London in 1875 ( explaining bust marked Florence not Firenze) and was a portrait sculptor. Focardi was commisioned by Pears...

19th century hand carved gold gilt cherub/putti fragment A high-quality hand carved 19th century gold gilt paint over sectioned pine example. This wonderful piece details realistic human features, which suggests it was carved for a special interior section of sorts. Likely to have been part of a larger collective at some point. It would look delightful and highly decorative positioned over a doorway entrance. Size in inches: H 10” x W 15” x D 5” Origin: France Material: Pine Date: 1850 - 1880 Completely solid in structure and form without any breaks. Detail loss across the painted surface as shown. We sell antique...

Mid-19th century crib figure bust A wonderful example of a mid-19th century Italian hand carved crib figure bust. Glass eyes and original paint still inta...

This large, substantial and very well executed bust is signed by an unknown artist, and presumed to have originated from Italy and date to approximately 1900 and done in a period Victorial realistic style. The sculpture is done in marble and depicts a young female musician...

A pair of Italian alabaster busts of Amorini By Galleria Lapini, Florence, Late 19th Century One inscribed to the reverse C. Lapini, Firenze...

A very finely carved marble bust of William Ewart Gladstone dated 1868 and signed W.Theed SC William Theed was born in Staffordshire, his father, William Theed the elder being a sculptor and a craftsman at Wedgwood, known for his major work, Hercules and the Thracian Horses for one frontage of the Buckingham Palace complex. The younger Theed studied at the Royal Academy Schools, then worked for the sculptor E. H. Baily. Five years on, in 1826, he went to Rome, where he was to stay a total of 22 years, during that time working in the studios of Thorwaldson and John Gibson. Returning to London in 1848, Theed enjoyed a good reputation, being a favoured sculptor of Queen Victoria, and was commissioned to produce many portrait statues, busts, and large monuments. He showed work in the 1851 Great Exhibition, and among other high points were a group for the Albert Memorial, and five standing figures on the Inland Revenue side of Somerset House, representing Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin. Theed's statues may be seen in St Paul's (Henry Hallam), Manchester (Monument to Chetham in the Cathedral, Gladstone and Thomas Bright for the Town Hall, and James Watt in Piccadilly Gardens), Huddersfield (Robert Peel), Winchester (David Williams monument in the Cathedral), and Prince Albert statues for Grimsby, and in Australia in Macquairie Street, Sydney. He was also responsible for three of the portrait statues (Bacon, Locke, Adam Smith...

This substantial and well executed hand-carved marble bust is signed by an unknown artist, and originates from England and done in the period Victorian style. The sculpture depicts a...

English marble bust of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Late 19th century. Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the t...