The distinguished ivory carver of Huguenot descent, David le Marchand, who set up shop in Edinburgh in 1696, carved and signed a handsome bust (8½in. high) of John Locke (1632-1704) at the age of 65. This is known only from photographs taken when it was brought to the Victoria and Albert Museum for opinion in 1936. The profile view (Avery, op. cit., p. 249, fig. 2) is virtually identical to the present medallic image, which is probably a derivative from the commission for the bust. Particularly significant is the quiff of hair drawn back over Locke's forehead, while the sinuous curves of the waxy-looking folds of drapery round the truncation are characteristic of le Marchand's style. The absence of his initials, DLM, found on some medallions, is not significant, for by no means all are signed.