King Charles I
Bust
ca. 1635-1640 (made)
ca. 1635-1640 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Portrait busts on this tiny scale are extremely rare. They resemble the small-scale bronze busts of Christ, and occasionally of individuals, produced in 17th-century Italy.
People
The Florence-born sculptor Francesco Fanelli arrived in England from Genoa in the early 1630s. By 1635 he was employed by Charles I and in 1640 he signed himself as Sculptor to the King of Great Britain. However, Fanelli's role as royal sculptor is unclear as no records of large-scale commissions for the King survive. Although Fanelli was said to have 'livd and dyd in England', his exact fate is uncertain.
Subject Depicted
The fanciful armour of the king is decorated with beautifully modelled but lively reliefs of a unicorn, a lion and two marine deities. These are closely related in style to other reliefs by the artist and may possibly have symbolic meaning, as well as being decorative. The unicorn, for example, was associated with purity and the lion with strength, power and kingship.
Ownership & Use
This intimate object was probably commissioned by the King himself, and may derive from a wax sketch model for a life-sized bust.
Portrait busts on this tiny scale are extremely rare. They resemble the small-scale bronze busts of Christ, and occasionally of individuals, produced in 17th-century Italy.
People
The Florence-born sculptor Francesco Fanelli arrived in England from Genoa in the early 1630s. By 1635 he was employed by Charles I and in 1640 he signed himself as Sculptor to the King of Great Britain. However, Fanelli's role as royal sculptor is unclear as no records of large-scale commissions for the King survive. Although Fanelli was said to have 'livd and dyd in England', his exact fate is uncertain.
Subject Depicted
The fanciful armour of the king is decorated with beautifully modelled but lively reliefs of a unicorn, a lion and two marine deities. These are closely related in style to other reliefs by the artist and may possibly have symbolic meaning, as well as being decorative. The unicorn, for example, was associated with purity and the lion with strength, power and kingship.
Ownership & Use
This intimate object was probably commissioned by the King himself, and may derive from a wax sketch model for a life-sized bust.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | King Charles I |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze, lost-wax casting. |
| Brief description | Bust, bronze, of King Charles I by Francesco Fanelli (1577-after 1641), Anglo-Italian, England (London), 1632-1640. |
| Physical description | Bronze bust of King Charles I wearing armour which is decorated with reliefs of a unicorn, a lion and two marine deities. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support, and the assistance of the Murray Bequest, the Horn Bequest, the Hildburgh Bequest, the John Webb Trust, the Bryan Bequest, the Vallentin Bequest, the Barber Bequest, the J. R. Jones Bequest, the Crescent Trust, Mr Daniel Katz, The Sealed Knot Ltd, R.B.K. & C. Decorative & Fine Arts, G. Dockrell & Gift Aid, Mrs G. Wordsworth, R. J. Rankin, C. M. Diamond and Mr B. R. E. Cox |
| Object history | This is the only known version of this subtly modelled and virtuoso portrait bust, which was probably made either for the King himself or for one of his courtiers. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Portrait busts on this tiny scale are extremely rare. They resemble the small-scale bronze busts of Christ, and occasionally of individuals, produced in 17th-century Italy. People The Florence-born sculptor Francesco Fanelli arrived in England from Genoa in the early 1630s. By 1635 he was employed by Charles I and in 1640 he signed himself as Sculptor to the King of Great Britain. However, Fanelli's role as royal sculptor is unclear as no records of large-scale commissions for the King survive. Although Fanelli was said to have 'livd and dyd in England', his exact fate is uncertain. Subject Depicted The fanciful armour of the king is decorated with beautifully modelled but lively reliefs of a unicorn, a lion and two marine deities. These are closely related in style to other reliefs by the artist and may possibly have symbolic meaning, as well as being decorative. The unicorn, for example, was associated with purity and the lion with strength, power and kingship. Ownership & Use This intimate object was probably commissioned by the King himself, and may derive from a wax sketch model for a life-sized bust. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.3-1999 |
About this object record
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| Record created | October 6, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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