Francis Jahn was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1871, the son of Louis Jahn (1839-1911) the painter and designer. Louis Jahn settled in England from Vienna, he worked at Minton painting figural subjects on porcelain, in 1872 he became Art Director for Brownfields, and in 1893 returned to Minton where he became Art Director. In 1903 he became Curator of Hanley Museum. His son, Francis, followed in his footsteps to some degree. He was a modeller at Minton from 1894 to 1899, and exhibited sculpture at the Royal Academy from 1901 to 1928. He was a student at Hanley School of Art and later in the 1890s taught modelling there. The two sculptures illustrated in The Studio (op. cit.) show that he worked in a late 19th century 'romantic' style, while his oeuvre at Minton was more markedly Art Nouveau. The present rare head relates to the latter style and reveals his interest in the use of a variety of materials, as does one of his Royal Academy exhibits of 1907 entitled The Treasure, which was a statuette in bronze, silver and ivory. An eclectic sculptor, he was familiar with both modelling and carving, and worked in ceramic, bronze, silver, marble and ivory. The present head reveals the successful amalgam of these two techniques in the combination of bronze and ivory. The subject matter, a popular one in Symbolist and Art Nouveau circles, is here dramatically and stylishly treated.