Sold For $1,411
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Massive early 20th-century bust of General George Washington made by renowned plaster reproduction company P. P. Caproni & Brother of Boston, Massachusetts, approximately measuring 36˝ x 26˝ x 14˝ and weighing over 90 pounds. Expertly colored in polychrome paint, the plaster sculpture depicts America’s first president in great and glorious detail, clad in his military uniform with golden epaulets indicating his rank as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. The reverse of the base bears the embedded hallmark of P. P. Caproni & Bro., a company famous for the use of Washington’s life mask made by artist Jean-Antoine Houdon. The bust includes its attractive wooden pedestal, 18˝ x 24˝ x 18˝, weighing 42 pounds, each side bearing a carved wreath with a central “W.” In October 1785, Houdon was commissioned to create a full-length figure statue of Washington for the state of Virginia. He stayed at Mount Vernon for a couple of weeks, studying his subject and creating a life mask, and then completed the sculpture back home in France. It was installed in the Capitol's rotunda in 1796. In generally fine condition, with scattered light wear and stains, a repaired section to the bust base, and scattered wear to the pedestal.
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