This bust represents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), the Austrian composer born in Salzburg in 1756, the son of the renowned violin teacher Leopold Mozart. He toured widely as a child as an 'infant prodigy' on keyboard and violin, and composed his first opera in 1768. In the early 1770s he made several journeys to Italy but settled in Vienna in 1781, where he composed his successful opera The Abduction from the Seraglio. Mozart composed some 630 works including 41 symphonies, 27 piano concertos and operas including The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute. Nevertheless, he died in poverty in Vienna, aged just thirty-five.

This bust is made of biscuit porcelain, an unglazed porcelain introduced in the mid-18th century as a medium for statuettes and reliefs. It could be purchased relatively cheaply and yet give the effect of a marble sculpted bust in a fairly modest home. This continental bust was probably produced in the mid to late 19th century, along with busts of other famous composers including Beethoven, Haydn and Wagner.