/internal/media/dispatcher/928886/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailBust of George IV1830Rundell, Bridge & RundellSir Francis ChantreyBenedetto PistrucciOverall: 49.5 cm (19 1/2 in.)
Other (Dimensions at base): 29.8 x 26 cm (11 3/4 x 10 1/4 in.)Gilt-bronze, mounted with enamel, gold, diamonds, emeralds, and rubiesWilliam Francis Warden Fund and Gift of Martin Levy in honor of Horace Wood Brock2005.93.1-21This jeweled bust of King George IV portrays him in the classical pose and tunic of Imperial Rome’s emperors. Elaborate jewelry adorning the king—a diamond-studded tunic with ruby neckline and an emerald fibula and pendant—testifies to the opulence of his reign. The bust was made by the London jewelry firm Rundell, Bridge, and Rundell, which served Britain’s royalty and the nobility, and was based on a marble bust by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey. The royal family presented this bust to Sir Henry Halford, physician to George III, George IV, William IV, and the young future Queen Victoria.
The bust sits on a hexagonal plinth decorated in the Gothic style with an enameled coat of arms of the House of Hanover. A gold medallion mounted on the back commemorates George IV’s coronation on July 19, 1821.Metalwork49.530100000026.000000000045714301