John Mayhew
Relief
ca. 1780-1820 (made)
ca. 1780-1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
John Mayhew is shown in relief facing to the right. He is bareheaded and wears a simple brown coat and white shirt.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, low relief portraits in wax became popular in Britain and they were often exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Society of Artists and elsewhere. Waxes were used in a similar way to prints and medals, in order to disseminate the image of the sitter, or, like miniature paintings or silhouettes as portable mementoes.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, low relief portraits in wax became popular in Britain and they were often exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Society of Artists and elsewhere. Waxes were used in a similar way to prints and medals, in order to disseminate the image of the sitter, or, like miniature paintings or silhouettes as portable mementoes.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | John Mayhew |
| Materials and techniques | Wax in giltwood frame |
| Brief description | Relief, wax, English, by Joachim Smith (about 1737-1814), about 1780-1820 |
| Physical description | The profile relief of John Mayhew, in coloured wax on dark red painted glass, is shown facing to the right. He is bareheaded and wears a simple borwn coat and white shirt. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | '[The] likeness of / Mr John Mayhew / Done by Mr Smith / FL 1702 / he Died in 1760 (?) aged 62 / most perfet likeness'. (Written in ink in an contemporary hand on paper on the back of the frame.) |
| Credit line | From the Bate collection |
| Object history | From the Mary Bate Collection, ex. loan 14. Bought from Philip Bate for £80 |
| Summary | John Mayhew is shown in relief facing to the right. He is bareheaded and wears a simple brown coat and white shirt. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, low relief portraits in wax became popular in Britain and they were often exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Society of Artists and elsewhere. Waxes were used in a similar way to prints and medals, in order to disseminate the image of the sitter, or, like miniature paintings or silhouettes as portable mementoes. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pyke, E.J. A Biographical Dictionary of Wax Modellers, Oxford, 1973, p. 138. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.22-1970 |
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| Record created | March 17, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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