A 19th century plaster portrait bust

A nineteenth century, painted plaster portrait bust of "Alexander Pope". Like David I dismissed Pope, the ears are wrong. Anyway over to the master.

Provenance- The Peter Hone collection.

The following is the research by David Bridgwater. 

Two Mysterious Early 19th Century Plaster Busts

Almost certainly by Shout of Holborn, London.

 - certainly not Alexander Pope,

This Bust has a superficial resemblance to the Roubiliac Busts of Alexander Pope, the drapery on the bust is almost exactly the same as that on the majority of the Roubiliac type busts of Pope but the features are not even close to the Roubiliac busts.

I have so far discovered two versions of this bust - one in the collection of my great friend and fellow enthusiast Peter Hone and another at the National Trust house Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire.

Peter Hone has owned this bust for many years see the photographs below.

The two busts have obviously come from the same original? source but the socles are completely different. The socle and support on the Sudbury are very similar to that used very frequently by Joseph Nollekens based on an antique precedent. 

The Sudbury bust is from one of a group of 5 similar busts at Sudbury Hall .