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Lot Essay
The four lead busts of Vittelius, Claudius, Tiberius and Cornelius Scipio Africanus are related to a set of 16 busts in niches outside Ham House, Surrey. According to a 1679 inventory, 38 heads were originally set into the walls of Ham House, which probably included the group of 16 busts mentioned above. Amongst this set are four busts (inv. nos. 1140364, 1140337, 1140363 and 1140334) which are strikingly similar to the current leads, albeit with the shoulders truncated.
The present busts could have been cast from the busts at Ham, with the shoulders added to the models before re-casting. Wilbraham Tollemarche, the 6th Earl of Dysart (1739-1821), is known to have relocated the busts of emperors into the niches they currently occupy and to have commissioned both sculpture and reproductions of Jacobean furniture for Ham. It is therefore possible that moulds could have been taken of the busts at Ham during his tenure.
The present busts could have been cast from the busts at Ham, with the shoulders added to the models before re-casting. Wilbraham Tollemarche, the 6th Earl of Dysart (1739-1821), is known to have relocated the busts of emperors into the niches they currently occupy and to have commissioned both sculpture and reproductions of Jacobean furniture for Ham. It is therefore possible that moulds could have been taken of the busts at Ham during his tenure.