Sculpture bust of James Watt
Date
19th century
Sitter
James Watt (1736 - 1819, British) , Chemist
Creator
Benjamin Cheverton (1794 - 1876, British) , Sculptor
After
Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781 - 1841, British) , Sculptor
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (sculpture): 100mm
width (sculpture): 47mm
depth (sculpture): 50mm
height (pedestal): 85mm
width (pedestal): 50mm
depth (pedestal): 50mm
width (sculpture): 47mm
depth (sculpture): 50mm
height (pedestal): 85mm
width (pedestal): 50mm
depth (pedestal): 50mm
Subject
Description
Miniature bust of James Watt, head and partial shoulders, head inclined to the right as viewed. On a marble socle.
James Watt (1736-1819) was a British chemist and engineer, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1785.
James Watt (1736-1819) was a British chemist and engineer, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1785.
Object history
Provenance: Donated by Sir William Pope, F.R.S., 1940
The donation is recorded in the Notes and Records of the Royal Society ‘BEQUESTS Sir William Pope, F.R.S. – Council, at their meeting on 2 November, accepted the bequest of two miniature busts, four inches high, of John Dalton and James Watt from the late Sir William Pope. Sir William was very proud of these busts which he acquired some six years ago with the intention of leaving them to the Society. They were carved in ivory by Cheverton after the originals by Sir Francis Chantrey. The original Chantrey bust of Watt was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1815, and a casting was made in Sheffield. The original bust is in the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, and a photograph of it (by Edward Finden) forms the frontispiece to the Life of James Watt, by J. Muirhead, M.A. (Murray, 1858). The original statue of Dalton is in the Manchester Town Hall.’ Notes and Records of the Royal Society, London, Vol 3, 1940-1941, page 5
The donation is recorded in the Notes and Records of the Royal Society ‘BEQUESTS Sir William Pope, F.R.S. – Council, at their meeting on 2 November, accepted the bequest of two miniature busts, four inches high, of John Dalton and James Watt from the late Sir William Pope. Sir William was very proud of these busts which he acquired some six years ago with the intention of leaving them to the Society. They were carved in ivory by Cheverton after the originals by Sir Francis Chantrey. The original Chantrey bust of Watt was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1815, and a casting was made in Sheffield. The original bust is in the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, and a photograph of it (by Edward Finden) forms the frontispiece to the Life of James Watt, by J. Muirhead, M.A. (Murray, 1858). The original statue of Dalton is in the Manchester Town Hall.’ Notes and Records of the Royal Society, London, Vol 3, 1940-1941, page 5
Associated place