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A rare and appealing Staffordshire pearlware bust of Sir Isaac Newton, modelled wearing a lilac cape with green lining and raised on a flared socle base impressed 'NEWTON'. Produced at the height of the Enlightenment's influence on British decorative arts, the bust celebrates one of history's most revered scientific figures, whose achievements in mathematics, physics and astronomy transformed contemporary understanding of the natural world.
The figure is rendered with considerable character, the delicate polychrome decoration highlighting the sculptural modelling and lending the piece a striking visual presence. Busts of celebrated philosophers, scientists and political figures formed an important part of Staffordshire's late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century output, reflecting both the growing appetite for intellectual subjects and the widespread admiration for national heroes.
An attractive and uncommon example of Staffordshire's engagement with the cult of genius and scientific progress during the Georgian period.
For a similar bust see VandA accession number CIRC.254-1955 - Citing a probable attribution to Enoch Wood c1790
Provenance: Bonhams 5th December 2007 - LOT 209
Height: 23 cm
Condition: Small chips to the corners of the base.
