A fine Parian bust of Robert Stephenson by Wedgwood

A fine Parian bust of the engineer Robert Stephenson (1803 – 1859) by Wedgwood from the sculptor Wyon and dated March 12th 1858.  Marked 'Josiah Wedgwood & Sons' to the back of the bust. Height 36½cm (14½")

Robert Stephenson was the son of the great railway engineer George Stephenson and worked with his father designing steam engines and surveying and designing potential routes for railways, initially to transport coal from mines to docks. The Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened in 1825. Subsequently, following a short time working in Colombia, Robert worked on designing and improving locomotives, with the famous “Rocket” winning the locomotive trials at Rainhill in 1829. Robert continued working on railway and locomotive design and railway bridges, including famously the Conwy Bridge to Anglesey and the Newcastle High Level Bridge. Later in life Robert entered Parliament as the Member for Whitby while continuing his engineering work, including on railways in Egypt, Norway and Canada. He died just before his 56th birthday, a month after his great friend and fellow engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Robert was widowed young and had no children. (With acknowledgement to Wikipedia)

This bust is illustrated in the “Parian Phenomenon” page 197 figure 654.

Condition: This bust is in very good condition with just a short firing line on the front and a small pale stain.