Sunday, April 1, 2012

Object of the Day: Queen Mary's Portrait of the Prince of Wales, 1935






Her Majesty, Queen Mary commissioned this exquisite figure from the celebrated firm of Von Schmeltzer & Sons in 1935 as a gift for her husband King George V.  The gift, a sculpture of the Prince of Wales, was meant to mark the New Year as well as the start of their Silver Jubilee. 

Queen Mary wrote in her journal on 12 November, 1934:

Unseasonably warm.  Enjoyed lobster gelatin and boiled grape leaves.  Met with Von Schmeltzer and commissioned portrait sculpture of David for Silver Jubilee.  He is to be depicted in tall hat.  Special attention should be paid to his eyes which I wish to be lifelike.  Also, his regal nose—so much like my great-granfather’s, should be carefully modeled.

On 31 December, 1934, the entry reads:

Cold evening.  Roast beef and boiled snout.  Received sculpture Von Schmeltzer.  Likeness too much like David.  Will not give to George.











APRIL FOOLS!

This is a puffy, googly-eyed novelty from the early 1980s.

2 comments:

Darcy said...

Very funny! I loved today's April Fool's Day posts. I couldn't stop laughing. Kudos to Mr. Punch and Bertie dog for their help.

Joseph Crisalli said...

On behalf of the whole gang, I say, "thank you."