The Coade Bust of Caracalla.
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 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).
I will take the liberty to publish the Tomasso brothers excellent photographs here.
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
I will attempt to obtain better photographs and details of any marks in due course.
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 an overview of the history of Messrs Blashfield see -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marriott_Blashfield
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