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King Charles II

Bust
1685 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This bust is an exact reproduction of a figure in the Sir John Soane Museum, with a slight variation of the cloak at the base of the bust. Artus Quellinus made a full length statue of Charles II for the Royal Exchange which was completed in 1685.

Artus / Arnoldus Quellinus III (Arnold Quellin) was the son of Artus Quellinus II (1625-1700) and trained under his father in Antwerp. He arrived in London in 1682 and was an assistant to Grinling Gibbons. He specialised in marble sculpture, of which his monument to Thomas Thynne (ca. 1682) in Westminster Abbey is a notable example. He also executed figures of Henry VI and James II for the Royal Exchange.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleKing Charles II (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta
Brief description
Bust, terracotta, Charles II, by Quellinus (Arnold Quellin), English, after 1685
Physical description
Bust in terracotta
Dimensions
  • Height: 20cm
  • Width: 25.5cm (Note: max width)
  • Depth: 13cm (Note: max depth)
Object history
According to Mr Winter, the Museum official who discovered the bust at Alfred Spero's premises, 134 New Bond Street, London, it was said to have belonged to the late brother of the vendor, almost certainly Maurice Spero, who has owned the bust for some time before it was passed to another dealer. It was later acquired by Alfred Spero, from whom the Museum purchased i in 1945 for £30.
Subject depicted
Summary
This bust is an exact reproduction of a figure in the Sir John Soane Museum, with a slight variation of the cloak at the base of the bust. Artus Quellinus made a full length statue of Charles II for the Royal Exchange which was completed in 1685.

Artus / Arnoldus Quellinus III (Arnold Quellin) was the son of Artus Quellinus II (1625-1700) and trained under his father in Antwerp. He arrived in London in 1682 and was an assistant to Grinling Gibbons. He specialised in marble sculpture, of which his monument to Thomas Thynne (ca. 1682) in Westminster Abbey is a notable example. He also executed figures of Henry VI and James II for the Royal Exchange.
Bibliographic references
  • Gibson, K, ''The Kingdom's Marble Chronicle': The Embellishement of the First and Second Buildings, 1600 to 1690'' in Saunders, A, (ed.) The Royal Exchange, London, 1997, p. 161, note. 142
  • Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V& A Publications, 2002. pp. 9-10. cat. no. 10.
Collection
Accession number
A.7-1945

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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