Achilles shouting from the trenches

Details

Thomas Woolner (1825-1892)
Achilles shouting from the trenches
bronze in an oak stepped frame
the plaque: 17 in. (43 cm.) high; with the frame: 23 in. (58 cm.) high

Literature

R. Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, p. 444. B.Read & L. Barnes (eds); Pre-Raphaelite Sculpture: Nature and Imagination in British Sculpture 1848-1914, London, 1991, pp. 154-5.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Achilles shouting from the trenches was originally conceived as the centre panel of a triptych, depicting scenes from The Iliad, to decorate the plinth supporting the bust of William Ewart Gladstone (Ashmolean Museum; Oxford), which was commissioned by a group of subscribers, and was originally placed in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. He carved a marble version of the same subject, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876 (no. 1417) and deposited by him as his Diploma Work. A second marble, now in Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, was carved for his patron Charles Jenner.

We are grateful to Peyton Skipwith at the Fine Art Society for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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