Henrietta Pelham

myminifactory

This bust of Henrietta Pelham forms a pair with that of her husband Charles (Museum no. A.119-1929), whom she married in 1806, and both stand on their original wood plinths. A variant dated 1808 is located at Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire, the ancestral home of the Yarboroughs. The present bust may have been displayed at The Royal Academy in 1810. Nollekens was a highly skilled sculptor of portrait busts and operated a successful workshop in London, producing many classical-style busts with loose drapery and antique hairstyles. He spent eight years in Rome from 1762 to 1770, where he worked closely with Bartolomeo Cavaceppi on restoring and copying antique marbles. One of these copies, his group of Castor and Pollux, is housed in the Museum's collection (Museum no. A.59-1940). Object history note: This bust comes from the collection of Lord Yarborough, who sold it together with seventeen other portrait busts by Nollekens at Christie's on July 11th, 1929, as lot 160; purchased by Messrs Alfred Spero and Kerin Ltd, 9 Clifford Street, New Bond Street, London for £37 16s. The Museum purchased this bust along with its contemporary pedestal from Messrs Alfred Spero and Kerin Ltd in 1929 for £37 16s.