About the Artwork
In this diminutive ivory bust, the sculptor has given his subject — identified as the British essayist and philosopher Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719) — a monumental presence. Intricate details, such as the curls of the wig and the minute carving of the buttons and drapery folds of the sitter’s shirt, display David Le Marchand’s prodigious talent and bravura carving. Le Marchand, a Huguenot artist who fled France first to Edinburgh and then London, became the foremost ivory sculptor in eighteenth-century Britain, where he established a successful ivory business. This is a rare example of Le Marchand’s work in an American collection, as his ivory sculptures are rarely found outside Britain.
Bust of a Gentleman, possibly Joseph Addison
ca. 1707
David le Marchand
1674 - 1726
French
Unknown
Ivory
Overall: 10 1/2 × 6 × 3 inches (26.7 × 15.2 × 7.6 cm)
Sculpture
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Museum Purchase, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, funds from Stanford Stoddard, Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman, and Visiting Committee for European Sculpture and Decorative Arts in honor of Alan Darr; gift of Mrs. Horace E. Dodge, by exchange
2003.1
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
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Provenance
(Daniel Katz, dealer)
2003-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Darr, A. P. and B. Gallagher. "Recent acquisitions (2000-2006) of European sculpture and decorative arts at The Detroit Institute of Arts." The Burlington Magazine 149 (June 2007): 452, pl. X (ill.).
Darr, A. P. "Virtuoso Carving: Three Eighteenth-Century British Portrait Sculptures by Le Marchand, Roubiliac, and Chaffers.” Bulletin of the DIA 83, no. 1/4 (2009): 42-4, fig. 1.
You, Yao-Fen. “From Novelty to Necessity: The Europeanization of Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate.” In Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate: Consuming the World, ed. Yao-Fen You, Mimi Hellman, and Hope Saska. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 2016, p. 29; 32 (ill.); 130–131, cat. 22.
Bulletin of the DIA: Notable Acquisitions, 2000–2015 89, no. 1/4 (2015): p. 20 (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
David le Marchand, Bust of a Gentleman, possibly Joseph Addison, ca. 1707, ivory. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund, funds from Stanford Stoddard, et al., 2003.1.
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