Sold at a hammer price of £12,000 plus commission - £14,900 in total.
Lot description:
Quote:
Lot number: 16
A pair of composition stone figures
mid 19th century
from a model by John Bacon
170cm.; 67ins high
Provenance: Removed from the facade of the Lord Nelson Public house in Boston, Lincs in the 1960‘s. Local legend held that they were a gift from Lord Nelson to Lady Hamilton, although their date attribution to the mid 19th century renders this as spurious. Nicholas Pevsner in his volume on Lincolnshire refers to “two attractive nymphs on the wall of a public house in the high street“
This pair of composition stone figures are identical to two produced by the Coade manufactory in the late 18th Century and probably originally modelled by John Bacon R.A., sculptor to George III. They are illustrated in the 1784 Descriptive catalogue of Coade‘s Artificial Stone Manufactory, No‘s 22 & 23 (see engravings). They were probably made by Austin and Seeley, who produced composition stone also marketed as artificial stone.
Estimated Price: £6000-10,000
Hammer Price: £12000.00
Photos here - lot 16
As the auctioneer says, the legend is spurious because of the date, but Nelson and Emma could have owned the earlier Coade versions. I wonder if that was part of the Austin & Seeley marketing spiel?
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