Neptune
after Ralph Wood
Category
Ceramics
Date
1801 - 1810
Materials
Pearlware
Measurements
307 x 193 x 121 mm
Place of origin
Staffordshire
Order this imageCollection
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire
NT 205020
Summary
Bust, pearlware, Neptune with head turned to proper right, standing on a square socle with rounded front edge, convex sides and flaring base, he has flowing hair and a full, wavy beard, he wears a garment draped over his right shoulder, his left shoulder revealed, the garment moulded to form a fish tail at his right shoulder, probably after Ralph Wood, Staffordshire, 1801-10; decorated with a combination of enamels and coloured glazes, his hair and beard gray and skin in flesh tones, the garment green with red fins and scales formed with black enamel, the base decorated in imitation of dark grey marble.
Full description
There is an example of this bust in the V&A collection, which has Ralph Wood's impressed mark. This is more finely detailed than the unmarked example at Wimpole and there also is a slight variation in the beard. The Wimpole bust might have been produced from the moulds after Ralph Wood's business was sold in 1801.
Provenance
Part of the Bambridge Collection. The hall and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust in 1976 by Mrs Elsie Bambridge (1896-1976)
Marks and inscriptions
Underside of base: [auction catalogue lot description pasted onto underside]
Makers and roles
after Ralph Wood, manufacturer
References
Halfpenny, 1991; Pat Halfpenny, 1991, English Earthenware Figures 1740-1840, p. 82