Daphne

Sir Hubert von Herkomer, R. A. (1849-1914)

30 April 1892

Glazed ceramic bust

27 ½ x 17 ¼ inches

Herkomer first painted a watercolour of Daphne in 1893 - insouciant and haughty, with laurel leaves woven into her hair - and then executed an engraving in partnership with Norman Hirst, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1895. Herkomer enjoyed such partnerships, and with the porcelain manufacturer Ernst Wahliss (1837-1900) he produced two or three versions of this bust in different sizes in the late 1890s, of which this is the biggest, rarest, and much the finest. The most numerous version is only 14 inches high and rather crude. By the late 1880s, Wahliss had established himself as Vienna’s leading manufacturer and retailer in porcelain, and, by 1888, had showrooms at 88 Oxford Street in London, as well as in France and Germany. His factory was in Bohemia. — Maas Gallery Commentary

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