Richard Cockle Lucas (BRITISH 1800-1883) WAX BUST OF A GENTLEMAN

Lot description

RICHARD COCKLE LUCAS (BRITISH 1800-1883) WAX BUST OF A GENTLEMAN signed R.C. LUCAS, with an indistinct inscription, raised on a turned and ebonised pedestal and plinth base (Bust 17cm high; overall 40cm) Footnote: Provenance: The Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, Balcarres House, Fife, Scotland Literature : Gunnis, Rupert Forbes A Biographical Dictionary of sculptors in Britain 1660 -1851 , Odhams Press 1953. Note: Born in Winchester, Hampshire, Richard Cockle Lucas discovered his talent as sculptor at the age of twelve, when he was tasked with carving knife handles as an apprentice to his uncle, a cutler. After joining the Royal Academy in 1828, Lucas quickly gained prominence as a sculptor of portraits and medallions, predominantly in wax, marble and ivory. However, he is also noted for his large-scale models of the Elgin Marbles, acquired by the British Museum and much admired today. An eccentric character, Lucas was posthumously placed at the centre of controversy after his son claimed that the Bust of Flora , by Leonardo da Vinci according to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin, was in fact by the hand of his father. Lucas detailed how his father conducted such work, by building up layers of wax from old candle ends, before stuffing the hollow centre with fabric rags and debris to stabilise it. Much dubiety still exists, although it is generally thought that Lucas worked on the piece at some stage to restore it, a testament to his skill and reputation as one of the leading British sculptors of the nineteenth century.