Height: 28cm (11in)
Head and shoulders bust of the Bard of Avon William Shakespeare (1564–1616) from a model by Emile Guillemin (1841-1907) after the William Kent designed memorial at Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey by Peter Scheemakers II (1691–1781). Signed to the reverse ‘F. BARBIDIENNE, FONDEUR’ and stamped with the Achille Collas authenticity foundry mark to the reverse
Barbardienne was one of the most prestigious nineteenth century Paris bronze foundries. In 1838 Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) profitably utilized a process invented by Collas of accurately downsizing monumental sculptures to more manageable sizes by mechanic reduction. The first cast using ‘reduction mecanique’ was of the Venus de Milo. Other classical and celebrated subjects followed and as a testament to the assured quality of their output, artists, such as Rude, Barye, and Mene all had their work cast by the partnership from 1843.