Images(8)

Bust of Sir Walter Raleigh

Date1930 (dated)

Artist/Maker Wedgwood Est. 1759

Artist/Maker Harry Barnard

OriginEngland, Staffordshire

MediumBlack unglazed stoneware (black basalt)

DimensionsOH: 18 3/4"; DIAM(base): 5 1/2"; OW: 9 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1930-699

DescriptionBasalt bust of Sir Walter Raleigh; figure is full face, with open eyes, wavy collar-length hair, moustache and goatee beard; clothing features lace-trimmed collar over shirt with eight buttons visible; at bottom of figure, a rectangular cartouche bears raised letters, "RALEIGH"; reel-shaped circular base with beading at lower edge and reeded upper edge supports bust.Label TextProlific potter Josiah Wedgwood is known for many ceramic innovations including the 1767 perfection of black basalt, an iron-rich fine-grained stoneware used for making tea and other “useful wares” and ornamental objects like statues and busts. Wedgwood’s 1787 catalog lists black basalt busts of Sir Walter Raleigh among other historical figures. While no extant 18th century examples of a Raleigh bust could be located in 1930, early 20th century Wedgwood manufactory partner Harry Barnard located one of the original 18th century molds among the manufactory’s archives. Barnard refurbished it and was able to make a second mold in order to cast this bust specifically for Colonial Williamsburg. So as not to confuse it with 18th century busts, the Raleigh bust was impressed behind the shoulder “WEDGWOOD” and incised “H.B.” for Harry Barnard along with the year 1930 and “ENGLAND.” Barnard’s bust of Raleigh and the lead fragments recovered archaeologically in Williamsburg served as the models for the modern lead bust crafted by Boston’s North Bennet Street Industrial School.Mark(s)On back of figure, impressed incuse "WEDGWOOD"; also, incised by hand: "H.B."; "1930"; "ENGLAND"; on inside of base, impressed incuse "WEDGWOOD"ProvenanceProduced by Wedgwood from "...the old mould of 'Raleigh'" by Harry Barnard. Used to produce a lead bust for the Raleigh Tavern, Ca. 1931, by the North Bennet Street Industrial School, Boston, Massachusetts.