Parian ware bust of W. M. Thackeray

Anon., produced by Robinson & Leadbeater

c. 1890

British Porcelain

7 1/2 inches

The Simon Cooke Collection

This small head by an unknown sculptor is a good example of Robinson and Leadbeater’s busts of literary heroes, which included Dickens, Keats, Shakespeare, Ruskin, Browning, Tennyson and Carlyle. [Commentary continues below. Mouse over the text for links.]

Photograph by Timothy Cooke and text by Simon Cooke. Formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Produced well after Thackeray’s death in 1863, the likeness was probably based on a photograph; the author’s pugnacious expression is well-captured. Though modelled on Greek and Roman prototypes, the sculptor incongruously includes Thackeray’s small round spectacles; bizarrely, the writer’s name on the plinth is spelled incorrectly as ‘Thackery.’

Parian ware or statuary porcelain was developed in the 1840s, either by Minton or Copeland and named after the Greek island of Paros. It was very popular because it kept its colour well, and was less delicate and more affordable than bone-china. Robinson and Leadbetter became one of the prime makers, in competition with Minton and Copeland.

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Created 8 February 2024