Skip to main content

Ophelia: C.939-2016

An image of Bust

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Awaiting location update

Titles

Ophelia

Maker(s)

Manufacturer: Copeland
Sculptor: Marshall, William Calder
Distributor: Crystal Palace Art Union

Entities

Categories

Notes

History note: Unknown before G.D.V. Glynn; the estate of G. D. V. Glynn

Legal notes

Accepted by H. M. Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax from the estate of G. D. V. Glynn, and allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum

Measurements and weight

Height: 28.5 cm
Length: 14.3 cm
Width: 11.2 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Stoke-on-Trent ⪼ Staffordshire ⪼ England
  • London ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Allocated (2016-01-25) by H.M. Government

Dating

19th Century, third quarter#
Victoria I
Production date: after AD 1859

Note

Ophelia, a tragic character in Shakespeare's play, 'Hamlet', was first produced as a Copeland bust in 1859 as a prize for the Ceramic and Crystal Palace Art Union's annual lottery. The bust was issued as a pair with Miranda, a happier character from 'The Tempest'. Ophelia was produced in two sizes of which this approximates to the larger size of 28.5 cm.

William Calder Marshall (1813-94) was born in Edinburgh and moved to London in 1834. After a period spent studying in Rome he returned to London in 1839. He was a prolific and unimaginative sculptor, but neverthelss became an RA in 1852. About fifteen of his works were reproduced in Copeland's Parian porcelain.

School or Style

Victorian

Components of the work

Base Length 9.5 cm

Materials used in production

Parian (porcelain)

Techniques used in production

Slip casting

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: CRYSTAL PALACE ART UNION
  • Location: Front of socle
  • Method of creation: Marked
  • Type: Name
  • Text: OPHELIA/W.O MARSHALL RA SCULPT/COPELAND
  • Location: Reverse of bust
  • Method of creation: Impressed
  • Type: Factory mark

Inscription present: rectangular white paper stick-on label

  • Text: 428
  • Location: On underside of socle
  • Method of creation: Hand-written in pencil
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.939-2016
Primary reference Number: 215941
Old number: 428
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Friday 26 May 2017 Updated: Friday 31 May 2019 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Ophelia" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/215941 Accessed: 2024-11-02 18:19:38

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/215941 |title=Ophelia |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 18:19:38|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-215941

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/668/705/large_C_939_2016_1_201705_sjc288_dc1.jpg"
        alt="Ophelia"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Ophelia</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...