Rare Francis Harwood sculpture of Homer rediscovered in Ireland

Sotheby’s has announced that another important piece of antique sculpture, “discovered in Ireland” is to be auctioned in London.

Sotheby's representative in Ireland, Arabella Bishop, said a marble bust of Homer by Francis Harwood, one of the most celebrated British sculptors of the 18th century had come to light and is "a rediscovery, having remained in a private collection in Ireland since the 1950s". The bust is to go under the hammer in Sotheby's London sale of Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art on December 3rd estimated at £70,000- £100,000 (€87,000-€125,000).

Earliest known The previously unrecorded sculpture, dated 1757, is the earliest known version of Harwood's depiction of the ancient Greek poet. There are only two other extant versions of Harwood's bust of Homer: one, dated 1764, is housed in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the other, dated 1760, is to be found in Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire.

It is believed that the bust was bought in Italy by an unknown member of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy during a Grand Tour in the 18th century. It was bought at an auction in Co Louth in the 1950s by Canon Joseph Furlong, the Catholic parish priest of Kilcullen, Co Kildare, for an unknown sum and inherited by a relative who has now decided to sell the piece.

Commenting on the discovery during a visit to Dublin, Christopher Mason, a Sotheby's specialist in European sculpture and works of art said:"Marble busts by Harwood are few in number – in fact, only 11 different portrait subjects are known to exist – so to find a supremely rare example is thrilling, not only for collectors, but also for scholars.

The current owner knew this piece was of importance, but had not pursued a full investigation until now.”

Sotheby’s has already sold two important pieces of sculpture with an Irish provenance at auction in London this year. In July, a Dublin art collector received an unexpected windfall when a mediaeval wooden “corpus” (a figure of Christ crucified) he owned sold for £278,500 (€350,000) – more than 18 times the top estimate of £15,000 (€19,000).

In May, the National Gallery of Canada bought a French sculpture which adorned Westport House in Co Mayo for more than a century. Boulonnaise allaitant son enfant, a life-size terracotta sculpture of a young mother from Boulogne feeding her child made £362,500 (€445,332), a world record price at auction for the artist, Aimé-Jules Dalou.