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Titania and Bottom

Figure
1864 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a terracotta group depicting Titania and Bottom and is made by the sculptor brothers W. J. and T. Wills in England, signed and dated 1864.

W.J. and T. Wills were sculptor brothers, working in the 1860s in the Euston Road, London. In 1859, Wills Bros undertook to model some of the first drinking fountains provided by the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, including the figure of Temperance for the fountain in front of the Royal Exchange. They also executed public statues.

The depicted Titania is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the play, she is the queen of the fairies. Married to Oberon, she falls in love with a lower class labourer, Nick Bottom the Weaver.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 8 parts.

  • Group
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
TitleTitania and Bottom (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta
Brief description
Group, terracotta, representing Titania and Bottom, by W.J. and T. Wills, English, 1864
Physical description
Terracotta group representing Titania and Bottom. Signed and dated.
Dimensions
  • Height: 40.64cm
  • Width: 27.94cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'LONDON WILLS BROS. SCULPT' (on base)
  • 'LONDON WILLS BROS. 1864' (inside base)
Object history
Bought for £5 in 1864.
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceA Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare
Summary
This is a terracotta group depicting Titania and Bottom and is made by the sculptor brothers W. J. and T. Wills in England, signed and dated 1864.

W.J. and T. Wills were sculptor brothers, working in the 1860s in the Euston Road, London. In 1859, Wills Bros undertook to model some of the first drinking fountains provided by the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, including the figure of Temperance for the fountain in front of the Royal Exchange. They also executed public statues.

The depicted Titania is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the play, she is the queen of the fairies. Married to Oberon, she falls in love with a lower class labourer, Nick Bottom the Weaver.
Bibliographic references
  • Ward-Jackson, Philip, Public Sculpture of the City of London, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003, pp. 484-485
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1864. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868., p. 37
Collection
Accession number
395:1 to 8-1864

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Record createdMarch 25, 2008
Record URL
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