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Figure of John Wilkes
Made at: Derby Manufactory, working about 1750-1848 (Derbyshire, England)
English
about 1765-1775
Object Place: Europe, England
Medium/Technique
Soft-paste porcelain, colored enamels, gilding
Dimensions
31.43 cm (12 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Martin Brimmer
Accession Number06.2439
CollectionsEurope
DescriptionWilkes wears a ruffled shirt, unbottoned waistcoat with gilt lapels, hems, and pocket flaps, knee breeches and shoes with gilt bows. A pink mantle draped over his left shoulder continues around his back and over his right knee. His weight is on his left leg, and he rests his left hand on his hip, right hand resting on pedestal inscribed "Ino Wilkes Esqr" on which are two scrolls, one inscribed "Rights of Man" and the other "Magna Charta." Resting against the pedestal is a bound volume whose spine is marked "Lock on Gvt"; beside it sits a putto gazing upward while holding aloft a liberty cap on a stick. The ensemble stands on a base with rococo scrollwork with gilded highlights.
Marks
Unmarked
ProvenanceMarianne Timmins (Mrs. Martin) Brimmer (b. 1827 - d. 1906), Boston; 1906, bequest of Mrs. Martin Brimmer to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 8, 1906)