[Statuette of Shakespeare, based on the Poets' Corner statue, Westminster Abbey] [realia] / Thomas Sharp.

[Statuette of Shakespeare, based on the Poets' Corner statue, Westminster Abbey] [realia] / Thomas Sharp.

[S.l.] : [s.n.], [ca. 1759]

1 statuette : mulberry tree wood ; 9 3/4 in. high, 6 5/8 in. wide, 3 1/4 in. deep.

wood

Figure and podium were carved separately and attached to the base with 2 screws. The base, made of 5 pieces of sawn veneer mounted on a block of oak, is carved in an incised diaper pattern, the same used on Wood no. 10. Parallel lines form lozenges which are decorated with stylized leaves and flowers. The pattern is repeated on top of the podium. Heads of Queen Elizabeth, Henry V, and Richard III appear to have been carved separately and mounted on the sides of the podium against a rose and trellis pattern. Vertical raised bands, about 3/4", edge the base of the podium. The mounted silver plaque reads, "The poets [sic] eye/in a fine frenzy/rowling. Doth glance/from heaven to earth/from earth to/heaven." The quotation is from Midsummer Night's Dream, V, 1. The inscription on the Westminster Abbey statue is from The Tempest, IV, 1 which begins, "The cloud capt towers..."

Certification: Figure has the mark of Sharp's die stamp on the back of the cloak and on the front, top, and back of the base, "Shakespears [sic] wood Sharp Stratford on Avon." Listed in Mrs. Folger's card file under Busts and Monuments. Card states that the carving, ca. 1759, was owned by the proprietor of the Shakespeare Hotel, Stratford, in 1799. His identity is not known. A copy of Sharp's raffle, Sept. 8, 1798, cataloged as Y.c. 1464, lists "A statue of Shakespeare leaning on books," valued at L5/-/-, which is annotated, "Won by Mrs. Lanston of Alcester." It is not known if this is the same piece.

Provenance: Sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, Dec. 6, 1905, lot no. 566. The catalog, Film Acc. 484 (234), is annotated with the hammer price L36/-/-, and the buyer's name, Pearson. Former owner's name not given. HCF bought of J. Pearson & co., Dec. 12, 1905, for L36/-/-. Receipt in HCF's file, Booksellers: Bills and Receipts (Folger Archives). The statuette was recorded 2 years earlier in another sale by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, Dec. 7, 1903, lot no. 7. In Sotheby catalog, Film Acc. 484 (228), the buyer is listed as Birch with the hammer price L40/-/-. Former owner not known.

Wood no. 16 (realia) (A3a)

This record contains unverified data from a re-keying contract and may contain incorrect or incomplete text. Please consult Curator for assistance.

cs364; ART Inv. 1117