The Coade Bust of Caracalla.
Inscribed 1792.
60 x 49 cm (23 ½ x 19 ¼ in.).
https://www.tomasso.art/artworkdetail/885959/20448/12-coade-caracalla
I was first made aware of this bust in early January this year.
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Since my previous posts of January 26 and February 16 of this year I have discovered that the bust is currently with the dealers Tomasso Brothers of London and Leeds - here are the links -
https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2026/01/coadestone-bust-of-caracalla-indented.html
https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-bust-of-caracalla-at-foundling.html
The intention of this post is to illustrate the history of the reproduction of the bust of Caracalla in England in the 18th and into the 19th Centuries.
The busts of Marcus Aurelius share a similar history.
From the importing of the Bartolemeo Cavaceppi copy of the ancient bust of Caracalla from Rome by Matthew Brettingham the younger - the reproduction of the bust by Roubiliac, and its further reproduction by Harris of the Strand and later 18th Century versions by Coade 1792 and the mid19th century terracotta by Blashfield.
The genesis of these posts was a conversation with Lars Tharp regarding the surprising lack of any works by Roubiliac at the Foundling Hospital given his links with the Foundling and the St Martin's Lane Academy.
This dovetailed neatly with researches into the use of variations of the socle used uniquely by Roubiliac in the mid 18th century until his death in 1762 which was inspired by conversations with Dino Tomasso which led to researches into a marble bust of Laocoon now firmly attributed to Roubiliac (see the illustration below).
This form of socle was continued by various manufacturers of porcelaine, terracotta, Coade Stone and glazed earthenware into the 19th century.
A squatter version of this type of socle also appears on the Coade stone busts of Nelson
and Raleigh on the Orangery at Bicton, Devon and the bust of John Wesley ( Wesley Chapel, Broadmead, Bristol).
As yet nobody seems to have made the link between the plaster busts of Caracalla and Marcus Aurelius at the Foundling Hospital and the Roubiliac versions (as seen in the posthumous contents of the Roubiliac workshop Langford's 4 Day sale catalogue of May 1762) and the Holkham Busts.
I will take the liberty to publish the Tomasso brothers excellent photographs here.
This Roubiliac plaster bust seems to have disappeared but the Francis Chantry copy of the bust is still at Holkham.
The BM say the bust pictured is by Francis Chantry after
Roubiliac, but the socle suggests to me that this might be an engraving of the
original Roubiliac bust from the Roubiliac Sale - Day 2. Lot 21. Plaster Bust and copied
by Chantry.
The Marble bust of Lord Leicester (in Roman dress) at Holkham is a copy by Chantry which uses a turned socle.
Roubiliac was responsible for the busts of Lord Leicester (with wig) and his wife Ladfy Margaret Tufton on the monument in the church at Tiitlleshall, Norfolk.
https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-tittleshall-monument-with-marble.html
W C Edwards was known as a silhouettist from an entry in Jackson’s ‘Dictionary’. This records him as the artist and engraver of a print silhouette depicting Sir Thomas William Coke of Holkham
Edwards was a line engraver by trade, he was based in Norfolk in
the early 19th century. The silhouette print is inscribed “From a Drawing made
at Holkham by W. C. Edwards, in 1824”
The Busts of Thomas Coke, Lord Leicester at the the Roubiliac Sale.
Day 1. Lot 87. Bust unfinish'd of Marble.
Day 2. Lot 21. Plaster Bust, Lot 27.
Day 3. Lot 90. A whole length of the Earl of Leicester in his robes plaster.(see image below)
Day 4. Lot. 55. Mould in plaister The Earl of Leicester in modern dress.
Lot 56. Ditto Mould - Earl of Leicester in Roman dress.
Lot 57. A small figure ditto.
Roubiliac uses the same form of the outer drapery on this
bust as his busts of Charles I at the Courtauld Institute Gallery at Somerset House and the Fordham Marble bust of
Shakespeare now in the Folger Library, Washington DC. USA. These three busts all use the same type of Roubiliac late type socle.
It is worth repeating here that the Roubiliac marble busts of Princess Amelia (with the late type socle), and of Elizabeth Fitzwilliam, Countess of Pembroke at Wilton house share the same dress.
https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-marble-bust-of-princess-amelia.html
For more on the Roubiliac socles see -
https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-bust-of-unidentified-man-as-trajan-by.html
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This bust of Caracalla and the Marcus Aurelius were almost
certainly a product of the Cavaceppi workshop in Rome although they lack the eared
support on the socle frequently used by him.
Caracalla was bought in Rome in 1749 by Matthew Brettingham and sold to Lord Leicester for £30.
In the posthumous Roubiliac sale of 13 May 1762
under the heading of Antique
busts etc in plaister - Lot 46, Marcus Aurelius.
For an essay on the subject of this plaster bust at Seaton Delaval and another perhaps of Venus or Aphrodite at Saltram House, Devon see
Another plaster bust of Commodus or the young Marcus Aurelius is at Burton Constable which has slightly different hair, a fuller body and the typical socle used by John Cheere with the slightly convex, recessed panelled front.
The posthumous Roubiliac Sale May 1762
Esdaile ... Roubiliac 1929 .... states that a number of Artists at a meeting at the Turks Head on 7 December 1760, had agreed to appear on the 5 November in the following year ...........among those signing the paper recording the promise were Joshua Reynolds, Wilson and Roubiliac.......
Esdaile goes on to say that the busts were presented on the same
day and that they bore his signature? and the date 7 November 1760. She had
contacted the secretary Mr RW Nichols who had had the busts taken down and
inspected but stated that any inscription had been obscured by the repeated
coats of paint - (not unusual given that it was easier to repaint this type of
object rather than laboriously clean them - a fate of many plaster objects and
their surroundings from the 18th century). (My Italics).
In the ambiguous footnote she says " I have most unfortunately omitted to give my authority - an 18th century one - for my note: Foundling Hospital. Plaster Busts of M Aurelius and Caracalla L.F.R. Dec 7th 1760".
She then states that "The historian of the Foundling Hospital however states that the busts were presented by Richard Dalton (Print seller / art dealer) - in 1754? but although this would exclude Roubiliac from the list of donors of works of art to the Hospital they may well have been his work. (this does not exclude John Cheere either) my italics! Certainly versions of these two busts appeared in his posthumous sale.
Mrs Esdailes work was the first in depth work on Roubiliac until Malcolm Baker's and David Bindmans recent works the only book on the works of Roubiliac.
Edsaile is not entirely to be trusted and attributions etc need to be checked against modern researches.
Height: 70cm, 27 1/2″ - Width: 55cm, 21 2/3″.
The height of the bust without the socle is 51 cms.
It has been claimed in the past that Blashfield had obtained moulds from Coade but the dates of the disposal of the objects from the Coade manufactory in 1843 .
Blashfield appears to have commenced manufacture of terracotta with James George Bubb (1781 - 1861) as an assistant in 1839 at Canford in Dorset. Bubb had previously worked as a sculptor with Messrs Coade.
I will attempt to obtain better photographs and details of any marks in due course.
This terracotta bust is with the excellent dealers Jamb of the Pimlico Road, London in September 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1456802126448472&set=pb.100063560954873.-2207520000&type=3
For a reasonable overview of the history of Messrs Blashfield and terracotta see -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marriott_Blashfield
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For Coade Blashfield etc. see Papers Read at the Royal Institute of British Architects -
Page 262 - 1867.
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