Antique Plaster Bust of Louis Agassiz After John Adams Jackson

Full Description

A rare and impressive nineteenth-century academic plaster bust with strong decorative appeal, historical interest, and documented period provenance. Substantial 19th-century plaster portrait bust attributed to American sculptor John Adams Jackson (1825-1879). The reverse is inscribed "J. A. Jackson Sc. Jan. 1874," indicating the original sculptural model was completed in January 1874. Jackson was a well-known portrait sculptor whose works included busts of prominent American and European figures. Contemporary accounts note that he produced nearly one hundred portrait busts during his career. The bust is believed to depict Louis Agassiz, a Swiss-born naturalist, zoologist, geologist, and educator (he is best known today for pioneering studies of glaciers and for helping establish the field of glaciology), in formal attire, wearing a bow tie, waistcoat, and coat. Measuring approximately 30 1/2" high x 21" wide x 13" deep and weighing about 36 pounds, it is an impressive display piece with strong visual presence. The interior is hollow and the underside/reverse displays the characteristic construction of a large plaster reproduction. No attempt has been made to conceal or cosmetically restore the historic surface. Based on construction, age, and comparison with documented examples, this piece may be an early cast reproduction produced by P. P. Caproni & Bro. of Boston, the renowned maker and distributor of art and museum casts during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The bust corresponds to a model sold by P. P. Caproni & Bro. as Louis Agassiz, first documented in the firm's 1894 catalog as No. 518 and later illustrated in the 1911 catalog as No. 5431. Comparable Jackson busts have been associated with Caproni in auction records. Purdue archives contains a photograph dated 1896 showing this same piece on public display, providing documented nineteenth-century provenance and confirming the bust's existence during the period. Dimensions Height: 30 1/2" Width: 21" Depth: 13" Weight: Approximately 36 lbs. Condition: Antique condition consistent with age. Surface wear, scuffs, and paint loss. Losses and chipping to the lower socle/base as shown. Structurally sound and displays very well. Similar examples have been cataloged simply as a "Gentleman in a Suit" or "Portrait Bust of a Gentleman." The sculptor attribution is based on the inscription and comparison with documented examples. **Please note:** This is a historical plaster reproduction, not the original 1874 sculpture by John Adams Jackson. It is being offered as an assumed P. P. Caproni & Bros. reproduction of the Jackson bust.