Antique Brass Bas Relief Plaque of President George Washington

This fine sculpted and finished brass plaque depicting George Washington resides in its original giltwood and gesso frame measuring 20 inches square and about 4.5 inches deep.  Condition is good. There is oxidation, light discoloration to the brass surface and gesso losses.  Not apparently marked and the sculptor and foundry are unknown.  We have seen others from this model cast in aluminum and bronze.

Inspiration for this work may derive from the bas relief by Charles Calverley (1833-1914), apparently first cast in 1877 by W.S. Barlow of New York.  Calverley's sculpture was based on the bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) completed in 1785.

Our bas relief also mirrors the style of the medal commissioned by Congress in 1776 to commemorate America's first victory in Boston in the war of independence, and eventually struck in 1790.

Other notable representations of Washington in profile are the 1790 engraving by Joseph Wright and the bronze bas relief by Victor David Brenner (1871-1924).