SCULPTED WAX BUST PORTRAIT OF WELLINGTON

Later Victorian period, from an important Dearborn Michigan Napoleonic collection. 5” height modeled in the full round. Profile or silhouette in high collar military uniform. Sculpted in bee’s wax with sepia accents. In its original Victorian gilt oval frame with domed oval glass.  Wax portraits were popular in the late Victorian to Edwardian period. Most were of the subject who sat for them, produced for home use. This example commemorates Wellington (Arthur Wellesley) who was credited with Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and considered nothing less than the savior of the British Empire. British dependence on and respect for the military elevated Wellington to icon status. His image is represented in diverse media, however, we were not able to find a single other image in wax suggesting that this one was made posthumously to a commission.