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Lady Brownlow

Bust
1814 (made)
Artist/Maker
Nollekens, Joseph (maker)
Place of origin
England (made)

This may be a posthumous bust of Lady Sophia Brownlow (1788-1814) commissioned by her husband, John Cust the 1st Baron Brownlow, after she died prematurely aged 25. Nollekens has depicted her with a contemporary hairstyle and dress, but there is also an idealised, classicising quality to the bust that suggests its commemorative function.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Portraits
Object type
Bust
TitleLady Brownlow (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Marble
Marble
Carved
Brief description
Bust, marble, Lady Brownlow, by Joseph Nollekens, English, 1814
Physical description
Bust, marble. The sitter looks slightly to her right. Her hair, which is bound with a ribbon, is in curls in front and finishes in a bun at the back. The drapery over her breasts and shoulders is tied at the waist with a ribbon.
Dimensions
  • Including base height: 65cm
Marks and inscriptions
'NOLLEKENS Ft 1814'
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rupert Gunnis Esq.
Object history
Bequeathed by Robert Gunnis Esqre, Hungershall Lodge, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1965. The Gunnis bequest included marble busts, a marble relief, waxes, also drawings of sculpture and monuments, now held in the department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings.
Subject depicted
Brownlow, Sophia (Lady)
Summary
This may be a posthumous bust of Lady Sophia Brownlow (1788-1814) commissioned by her husband, John Cust the 1st Baron Brownlow, after she died prematurely aged 25. Nollekens has depicted her with a contemporary hairstyle and dress, but there is also an idealised, classicising quality to the bust that suggests its commemorative function.
Bibliographic references
  • Gunnis, R, Dictionary of British Sculptors (1660-1851), 1953, p. 278.
  • Smith, J.T, (ed.) Whitten, Nollekens and his Times, II, 1920, p. 11.
  • 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, p. 100, cat. no. 137
  • Knox, T., ‘Portrait of a Collector: Rupert Gunnis at Hungershall Lodge and his Bequest to the Victoria and Albert Museum’, in: Sculpture Journal, II, 1998, pp. 85-96
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.60-1965

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O311704/lady-brownlow-bust-nollekens-joseph/
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