LATE 18TH CENTURY, ATTRIBUTED TO THE WORKSHOP OF JOSEPH NOLLEKENS

Details

A GEORGE III EBONISED PLASTER BUST OF WILLIAM MURRAY, 1st EARL OF MANSFIELD
LATE 18TH CENTURY, ATTRIBUTED TO THE WORKSHOP OF JOSEPH NOLLEKENS
Inscribed 'UNI. AQWS VITUTI', further inscribed to reverse 'MANSFIELD', chips and losses
27½ in. (69.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Possibly the cast believed by family tradition to have been acquired by David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont directly from Jospeh Nollekens.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The present plaster bust is after the marble bust of William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (d.1793) executed by Joseph Nollekens in 1779 and now at Kenwood House, London. Both the Kenwood bust and the Scone plaster are inscribed with Mansfield's motto 'Uni AEquus Virtuti' that translates as 'Faithful Unto Virtue Alone'. The motto is taken from Horace's Satires, and was used on Alexander Pope's bust by Roubiliac of 1740.
Family tradition dictates that the first Earl's nephew, David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont purchased a cast of the bust from Nollekens. It is therefore possible that the present bust is the cast he bought.

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