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Title:
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James Oswald
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Artist: |
Baron Carlo Marochetti
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This medallion of James Oswald (1779-1853), executed in 1849, four years before the subject's death, and only one year after Marochetti settled in England. Oswald was the son of a wealthy landowner and merchant, and represented
Glasgow as MP 1832-37 and 1839-47. He was a supporter of the movement
which resulted in the Reform Bill of 1832,and became the first MP for
Glasgow to be elected according to the principles enshrined in it. In
1841 he inherited the family estate at Auchincruive, to which he
retired after completing his second term in parliament.
This is the only known version of this model in statuary porcelain. It was probably manufactured by the firm of Copeland, who had earlier issued reductions in statuary porcelain of the statue of Emanuele Filberto, or by Minton, who later produced many models after Marochetti in their Parian ware. Another example of the same model is in the Kelvin Hall Store in Glasgow. This is, according to their records, in plaster.
The production of this portrait so soon after Marochetti's arrival in England, indicates the sculptor's desire to re-establish contact with the city where his statue of the Duke of Wellington had been inaugurated in 1841. It is rather specifically signed "C.Marochetti, Glasgow. 1849" The integral ceramic ornamental frame of the statuary porcelain version has been broken off, for a considerable part of the circumference, but has been remodelled in plaster.
Marochetti would go on to produce a statue of James Oswald for Glasgow. He also produced a bust, which was shown at the Scottish Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures Connected with Architecture, in January 1856 (Glasgow Herald, 2 January 1856, p.7).
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Material(s): |
Statuary porcelain (Parian Ware)
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Medium: |
Unassigned |
Finish: |
- |
Technique: |
Cast |
Genre: |
Portrait Medallion
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Colours: |
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Year: |
1849 |
Height: |
0.41 metres |
Width: |
0.41 metres |
Depth: |
0 metres |
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Key: |
2197 |
Acc. No.: |
2197 |
Col. No.: |
2197 |
Number of views: |
2516 |
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