  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.
  
  
  Title
  Bust of a Gentleman, possibly Joseph Addison
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1707
  
  Artist
  David le Marchand
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1674 - 1726
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Ivory
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 10 1/2 × 6 × 3 inches (26.7 × 15.2 × 7.6 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  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
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2003.1
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
