Details
The maiden signed and dated 'SHAKSPERE. WOOD. ROMAE 1853' on the tree stump and inscribed 'ADG 2' on the base; the blacksmith signed and dated 'SHAKSPERE. WOOD. ROMAE 1856' on the anvil and inscribed 'ADG 3' on the base; each on an associated breche violette cylindrical pedestal
48 in. (122 cm.) high, the marbles; 841⁄4 in. (214 cm.) high, with the pedestals
Literature
'Shakspere Wood', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/mapping/public/view/person.php?id=msib3_1215609764, accessed 13 Sept 2026].

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
A. Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts. A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904, vol. 4, Bath, 1970, p. 340.
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Lot Essay

Shakespeare Wood grew up in Manchester, beginning his artistic career in Edinburgh before moving to Rome in 1850, where he established himself as a sculptor. Described as a member of the Romantic school, he specialised in marble medallions, relief portraits and allegorical groups, while also developing a deep interest in Rome’s antiquities and archaeology. Another example of the Maiden with a Ewer, dated 1857, was sold at Bonhams, 15 September 2009, lot 231.

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