Sculpture was everywhere during the Victorian reign. Towns and cities across Britain and the Empire commissioned statues of their beloved monarch, Victoria Regina. From coinage to marble busts and grand statues, Queen Victoria’s image became a familiar part of Victorian life. Many sculptors of the age attempted to capture the queen’s likeness and convey her significance through sculpted portraiture. During this same era, advances during the Industrial Age made reproducing these great works in ivory, porcelain and bronze at small scale commercially viable. 

Produced to commemorate the 1897 Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria's reign, this miniature Queen Victoria Commemorative Bust was discovered this autumn at market in the north of England. Presented on a turned ebony wood socle, the bust is a commercially-scaled miniaturization of an original work by English sculptor, Richard Claude Belt. Known for portraits, architectural carving, and monumental sculptures like Casualties of War (1918), he often signed his work 'R. Belt Sc.'

Based on a small bust of Queen Victoria now held in the collection of England's Brighton Museum, Richard Belt attracted significant publicity In 1882 during a landmark case in which he initiated a lawsuit against former employer (and sculptor), Charles Lawes.  Lawes claimed in an interview in Vanity Fair, that Belt, a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, often put his name to works which had been created by other artists he employed. Belt proceeded to sue for libel. The case heavily debated aesthetic questions, authorship, the role of assistants, and the status of expert artistic testimony in court. Exhibits like Belt's Hypatia statue were brought into the courtroom and Belt was required to sculpt on demand in front of the jury as part of the proceeding.

Lasting 43 days, the trial was one of the longest libel cases held in England at the time. In the end, the jury found in Belt’s favor and later doubled the awarded damages when Lawes appealed! Rather than pay damages to Belt, Lawes went bankrupt.

Impressed on the reverse side 'R. Belt Sc 1897', 'C 1897 Parian Ware', 'Original in the Possession of the Queen' and 'Made in Germany', this charming bust with its storied history is a lovely example of royal memorabilia produced to commemorate grand royal events through the ages. Highly collectable, the appeal of these objects goes far beyond memorializing an event long past. They remain works of art, having captured the spirit of their time as much as they capture our imaginations today.

Strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. 2"W x 6.5"H. In very good antique condition. 

Learn More About Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901. From May 1, 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.

Victoria was born on May 24, 1819 and was the daughter of Prince Edward, the fourth son of King George III. In a twist of fate, both her father and the King died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her very strict German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. On June 20, 1837, Victoria's uncle King William IV died at the age of 71, and at the very young age of 18, Victoria became Queen.  In her diary she wrote, "I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma, who told me the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing gown) and alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen."

The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the Sovereign held relatively few direct political powers. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality.

Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. By all accounts a happy union, their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning Victoria the nickname "the grandmother of Europe".

After Albert's early death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning for the remainder of her life, choosing to wear black and having a special crown fashioned that would allow her widow's cap (head veil) to remain in place for royal engagements. 

The 60th anniversary of her reign, her Diamond Jubilee, was a time of joyous public celebration on June 22, 1897. Queen Victoria had surpassed her grandfather King George III as the longest-reigning British monarch on 23 September 1896, an event she marked privately at Balmoral Castle.  Writing in her journal, she reflected "People wished to make all sorts of demonstrations, which I asked them not to do until I had completed the sixty years next June." The Diamond Jubilee became a historic opportunity to celebrate Victoria's status as longest-reigning monarch, in addition to marking 60 years on the throne.

On the anniversary date of her accession, 78 year-old Victoria once again reflected in her journal: "This eventful day, 1897 has opened, and I pray God to help and protect me as He has hitherto done these sixty long eventful years! I feel sad at the new losses I have sustained... God will surely help me on! How well I remember this day sixty years ago when I was called from my bed by dear Mama to receive the news of my accession!"

Until the record-setting service of Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria's reign of 63 years and seven months was the longest of any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history.  Still referred to today as the Victorian era, it was a period of vast industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom.