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bust
Object Type
bust
Museum number
1887,0307,I.715
Description
Bust, black basalt, moulded, of Chaucer depicted full face with head-dress, tunic, and penner; circular plinth with border of raised key pattern and name impressed.
Producer name
Factory of:
Wedgwood & Bentley
([probably])
Production date
1775
(circa)
Production place
Factory in:
Etruria (England)
Materials
stoneware
Technique
moulded
Dimensions
Height:
14.30 inches
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments
Dawson 1984 This bust of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (?1340-1400), the model for which was supplied by Hoskins and Grant in 1775, with a circular plinth decorated with a Greek key motif has always been considered to date from the Wedgwood and Bentley period even though it is unmarked. Similar bases are found on marked examples, and the basalt is of fine quality.
Bibliographic references
Hobson 1903 / Catalogue of the collection of English Pottery in the Department of British and Medieval Antiquites and Ethnography of the British Museum
(I715)
Dawson 1984 / Masterpieces of Wedgwood in the British Museum
(p. 87, fig. 68)
Location
Not on display
Subjects
author/poet
headgear/hairstyle
Associated names
Portrait of:
Geoffrey Chaucer
Acquisition name
Donated by:
Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
Acquisition date
1887
Department
Britain, Europe and Prehistory
Registration number
1887,0307,I.715