Irish or British, late 17th/ early 18th century

By tradition, collection of the Earls of Mayo, Palmerstown House, County Kildare, Ireland;
Desmond Guinness, Leixlip Castle, County Kildare, Ireland, from circa 1960;
by family descent

V. Lawford, Vogue's Book of Houses, Gardens, People, New York, 1968 (photography by Horst), illustrated

Overall the condition of the busts is good with wear and dirt to the surface throughout consistent with age. The emperor looking to his right has a large insert at the proper left arm. There are small chips and wear to the high points throughout, specifically to the laurel wreath, the truncation and the drapery at the front and shoulders. There are larger chips and losses to the back of the laurel wreath and ribbon, the drapery on the proper left shoulder and hanging down on the proper left side of the chest of the emperor looking to his right. There are naturally occurring inclusions throughout. There are a few areas of naturally occurring stable, but slightly open, veining to both emperors' proper left side, in particular to the drapery on the lower left side of the emperor looking to his left. There are several areas of particular dirt, including to the nose, the left shoulder, the front of the drapery of the emperor looking to his left, and the left cheek, the chest and the proper right shoulder of the emperor looking to his right.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These extraordinary over life-size busts of Roman Emperors exhibit many of the characteristics of Netherlandish Baroque sculpture and are likely to have been carved by a Flemish or Dutch sculptor operating in Britain and Ireland in the last years of the 17th century and the first decades of the 18th century. The over sized laurels recall the prominent wreaths on skulls adorning Dutch funerary monuments, such as those on Rombout Verhulst's Monument of Hieronymus van Tuyl van Serooskerken in Stavenisse (Scholten, op. cit., p. 205, fig. 185). Their monumental form, great swags of drapery and blank eyes, meanwhile, are reminiscent of the work of Lucas Faydherbe, such as his Busts of Omphale and Hercules in the Stedelijk Museum Hof van Busleyden, Malines, and the Royal Museums in Brussels (Philippot, op. cit., p. 865, figs. 1 and 2).

The pre-eminent sculptors active in Britain in the late 17th and early 18th century were Dutchmen or Flemings drawn to the country in the wake of the Restoration. The present busts accord particularly with the work of Arnold Quellin (1653-1686), a native of Antwerp and the great-nephew of Artus Quellinus (1609-1668). Quellin spent much of his career collaborating with Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), who became one of the most celebrated Netherlandish sculptors active in Britain during the period. Interestingly, the two worked together on a number of commissions for Irish patrons, principally the funerary monuments to Robert and Helena Southwell, executed in 1681 for the church of St Multose in Kinsale, County Cork, and the monument to Dame Catherine Perceval in the same church, carved between 1681 and 1682. Quellin is also recorded as having produced two statues of 'boys' for the gardens of Carton House in County Kildare (Loeber, op. cit., p. 88).

A comparison can be made with a bronze statuette of James II in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which is attributed to Quellin (inv. no. A.20-1948). Note the same over-sized laurel wreath and the prominent jowls. This statuette is believed to be a reduction of the life-size bronze outside the National Gallery, London, which has the same scale pattern on the cuirass as that which appears in the present bust with head turned to the sinister. Similar facial characteristics, notably the heavy jowls, together with comparable Baroque drapery, are evident in Quellin's statue of King Charles II, designed for the Royal Exchange, London, and executed between 1685 and 1686.

With the arrival of Netherlandish sculptors in Britain came a vogue for representing monarchs and notables as triumphant Roman Emperors. The present busts fit into this wider tradition, and can also be compared with the numerous statues of British rulers clad in classicising armour and cloaks dating from this period. Compare also with the statue of William III by John Nost I (died 1710) at Wrest park, Bedfordshire, and, particularly, with the statue of George II in Golden Square, London (executed circa 1727), which has been attributed to Andrew Carpenter (fl. 1749-1774) (O'Connell, op. cit., p. 804). The approach of representing sitters as victorious Roman Emperors or generals was further developed and perfected by Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770) and Peter Scheemakers (1691-1781) later in the 18th century.

RELATED LITERATURE
R. Loeber, 'Arnold Quellin's and Grinling Gibbons's Monuments for Anglo-Irish Patrons', Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, vol. 72, no. 285, Spring, 1983, pp. 84-101; S. O'Connell, 'The Nosts: A Revision of the Family History', The Burlington Magazine, vol. 129, no. 1017, December 1987, pp. 802-806; D. Bilbey and M. Trusted, British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2002, pp. 4-11; F. Scholten, Sumptuous Memories. Studies in seventeenth-century Dutch tomb sculpture, Zwolle, 2003, p. 205, fig. 185; P. Philippot, D. Coekelberghs, P. Loze and D. Vautier, L'architecture religieuse et la sculpture baroque dans les Pays-Bas Meridionaux et la principaute de Liege 1600-1700, Brussels, 2003, p. 865, figs. 1 and 2