This small bust of former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone shows the sitter in a bow tie, a shirt with stand-up collar, waist coat and jacket. It is made of Parian, a type of bisque porcelain, designed to imitate marble. The bust is the same design as an 18 inch high Parian bust, set on a short column, sold through Bonham’s, London, in 2007, from the collection of the Earl of Stratford. Another similar bust, almost eight inches high, with a similar square base, was sold through dealer Tooveys in 2013 and carried the maker’s mark of Robinson & Leadbeater.

Robinson & Leadbeater of Stoke on Trent specialised in Parian figurines and busts. In 1876, around the time that this bust was made, the ‘Staffordshire Sentinel’ reported that business was booming: ‘figure-makers and parian manufacturers report a brisker demand. Indeed there is almost a rage for parian busts, statuettes, and figures.’

Gladstone was a particularly popular subject for such busts and other examples were manufactured and sold by Edwin Pickering of London, J. Graham of Bradford and Mr Stark of Stoke on Trent.

People

Gladstone, William Ewart

Places

Subjects

male portrait, beard, man, 19th century costume, bow tie, Leader of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister

Materials & Techniques

bisque porcelain, bust (as object name), ceramic bust, Parian Ware

Artist

William Goldsmith

Title

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) Prime Minister

Date

Medium

Parian Ware bisque porcelain bust

Dimensions

height: 17.00 cm, width: 10.50 cm, depth: 6.80 cm

Acquisition

Origin uncertain

GAC number

17109