Europe Busts

HEAD OF PLATO IN TERRACOTTA FROM THE GLYPTOTHEK IN MUNICH 20th Century H: 44cm x 20cm Plato (Athens, 428/427 BC – Athens, 348/347 BC) A terracotta copy of the famous artifact prese...

Portrait bust in statuary marble. Ex Browne-Swinburne, Capheaton Hall, Northumberland.

Signed and dated, 1830

William Theed, t...

1990s hand painted and signed ceramic head of a Japanese character.

Sculpture metal "Soud’art" Mask Wear consistent with age and use Art - Graphic sculpture - Brutalist Measures : 15cmx18cm H:78cm

A fascinating 20th century painted plaster life face cast of an unidentified male actor from the collection of British make-up artist, Christopher Tucker. This is just one of many fa...

A fascinating 20th century painted plaster bust of Sam Heller from the collection of British make-up artist, Christopher Tucker. This is just one of many face casts and plaster bust...

Dated 1904, this stoneware bust was made by late 19th century Doulton sculptor John Broad. It depicts Lewis John Eric Hooper, descendant of John Doulton who was founder of the famous Doulton & Co. of Lambeth, London. A barrister at the time, Hooper became Managing Director of the ceramics company from 1919 and subsequently Chairman from 1925. Here he is depicted in his barrister dress by the talented hand of Broad, giving us a glimpse into the character of Hooper as well as Broad’s artistic talent for statuary. The bust is in good condition, made in stoneware and sits on a wooden plinth detailed with plaque. This bust is likely a one-off commission. Broad was one of the most prominent artists of Doulton & Co. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Specialising in large works, he had a talent for producing vases, statuary and portrait medallions. This stone bust of Lewis John Eric Hooper...

Bronze Amazonian Indian head signed Bicata (marked 1/8) on Alfa Arte foundry marble base. Dimensions height 15 cm. Additional information: Material: Bronze Artist: Bicata.

A charming bust of a child’s head by Edwin Whitney-Smith, dated 1910, the girl has her head slightly tilted forwards as she looks out from under a lock of hair, set on a square block signed on the reverse ‘E Whitney-Smith 1910’. This bronze is a reduction of Whitney-Smith’s original marble piece, a photograph of which survives in the V&A (object number AAD/1990/12/63). Another version can be seen in a 1920s photograph of the artist in his studio owned by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG x194201). Neither the identity of the sitter nor title of the work is known. Edwin Whitney-Smith (1880-1952) was one of the pre-eminent sculptors of his day. Born in Bristol in 1880, he became a student of William Harbutt, the headmaster of Bath School of Art, best remembered today for inventing plasticine. Whitney-Smith showed great promise from an early age, opening a studio in St John’s Wood, London, in 1910. He exhibited over 40 pieces at the Royal Academy and despite not achieving Academician status, even with list of illustrious proposers, he became a dear friend of Sir Alfred Munnings, the famous horse painter, and sculpted his portrait. He was, however, elected to the Royal Society of British Sculptors and his works were generally well-received by critics and the general public alike. Aside from the RA, he exhibited in Bristol, at the Paris Salon and the Scottish Academy and his work attracted the attention of such important patrons as the Courtauld family. One of his most famous works, The Waking Child, is in the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull and another, The Irishman, is in the Tate. One version of his bust of Ernest Bevin, the trade unionist, stands in Tooley Street in Bermondsey to this day. An article in The Sphere, published on the 3rd of May 1924, referred to the sculptor as “a well-known sculptor of smiling children” and mentioned his “famous babies’ heads”.

A Victorian carved walnut figure of Mark Tapley from the novel ‘The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit’ by Charles Dickens’, wearing a soft top hat, a tailcoat and a buttoned w...

A marble and Ormolu bust by Marionnet, showing the white marble head and shoulders of a girl with her hair in a bun and ringlets framing her face, wi...

A COMPANION OF ULYSSES, AFTER THE ANTIQUE BUST IN THE TOWNLEY COLLECTION, NOW IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LATE 18TH CENTURY. Statuary Marble. This bust is a late 18th century English co...

This impressive bust is depicted with head turned slightly to the right and gaze lifted. His eyes are articulated, with the pupils indicated with a drill, giving the face a striking realism. The shoulders are draped with a cloak. Straight brows sit beneath a mass of thickly curling hair, which continues to a full beard. It is worked with great skill, evident in the heavy drill work articulating and highlighting the voluminous curls, and the highly polished surfaces, giving the appearance of soft skin. The contrast between these textures gives a chiaroscuro affect which is one of the main traits of the best Antonine busts. Roman marble portraits reached their apotheosis of craftmanship and technique under the Antonine emperors, as is evidenced in this masterful bust. The evolution of the style may be traced back to the emperor Hadrian, who was the first emperor to wear a full beard. The articulation of pupils and iris appears on busts of his lover Antinous, a novelty which continued in later Antonine portraits, such as this one. The features of this bust point to a possible identification of Emperor Lucius Verus...