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Not currently on display at the V&A

A Woman with Children Gathering Apples

Wax Relief
ca. 1790-1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Percy, Samuel (maker)
Place of origin
England (made)

This wax relief by Samuel Percy made in about 1790-1820 is depicting a woman with children gathering apples. This work was recorded in Rackstrow's Museum in Fleet Street, London in 1791, where it formed one of the collection of wax models, the others were mainly anatomical.
Percy (1750-1820) was an Irish wax-modeller and sculptor, active in England. Around 1777 he went from Dublin to London, where he soon established a thriving practice as a portraitist in wax. By 1786 he had completed 800 historical and contemporary portraits.


Object details

Categories
Children & Childhood
Waxes
Object type
Wax relief
TitleA Woman with Children Gathering Apples (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Wax in gilt wood frame
Wax
Brief description
Relief, Wax, A Woman with Children Gathering Apples, by Samuel Percy, English, about 1790-1820
Physical description
A lady is shown with three children playing under an apple tree. The figures are set in a river landscape against a painted background. One boy is perched in the tree, whilst another crouches kneels below with a hatful of apples. The mother and daughter, who cries for an apple, are placed to the right.
Dimensions
  • Framed height: 57cm
  • Framed width: 60cm
Credit line
From the Mary Bate Collection
Object history
The wax was recorded in Rackstow's Museum in Fleet Street, London in 1791 where it formed one of a collection of wax models, others being mainly anatomical.

From the Mary Bate Collection, ex. loan 1. Bought from Philip Bate for £500.
Subjects depicted
Tree
Apples
Woman
Children
Summary
This wax relief by Samuel Percy made in about 1790-1820 is depicting a woman with children gathering apples. This work was recorded in Rackstrow's Museum in Fleet Street, London in 1791, where it formed one of the collection of wax models, the others were mainly anatomical.
Percy (1750-1820) was an Irish wax-modeller and sculptor, active in England. Around 1777 he went from Dublin to London, where he soon established a thriving practice as a portraitist in wax. By 1786 he had completed 800 historical and contemporary portraits.
Bibliographic references
  • A Descriptive Catalogue of Rackstrow's Museum...to be seen at No. 197 Fleet Street London, London, 1791
  • Pyke, E.J. A Biographical Dictionary of Wax Modellers, Oxford, 1973, p. 103
  • Ord-Hume, Ruth, " ‘That ingenious Artist, Mr Percy’: the wax tableaux of Samuel Percy", in: Sculpture Journal, Vol 21.1, 2012, p. 106, ill. P. 107
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.12-1970

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Record createdMarch 17, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O97072/a-woman-with-children-gathering-wax-relief-percy-samuel/
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