This is a model for a posthumous marble statue of the philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). The finished version was placed in the library of Christ Church college, Oxford, where Locke had been educated. Although Rysbrack never went to Italy, the pose is inspired by Italian sculpture and painting of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Rysbrack was born in Antwerp, and trained in the Netherlands, but spent his working life in Britain. He was one of the most important sculptors active in this country in the first half of the 18th century, and specialised in portrait busts and funerary monuments. Even though he never visited Italy, many of his works are clearly indebted to classical archetypes. His terracotta models are particularly fine, and are often virtually finished pieces in their own right. This piece may have been sold at the sculptor’s retirement sale, which took place at Langford & Son, in Covent Garden, in January 1766. Related drawings are held in the Art Institute of Chicago.