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Ophelia: C.939-2016

An image of Bust
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An image of Bust
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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

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

Audit data

Created: Friday 26 May 2017 Updated: Friday 31 May 2019

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 (2025) "Ophelia" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/215941 Accessed: 2025-12-05 08:48:38

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=2025-12-05 08:48:38|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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

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    <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"
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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Ophelia</figcaption>
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