Dutch Delft classical buste

This rare blue-and-white Delftware tin-glazed earthenware bust dates to the late 17th century. Delftware of this period is renowned not only for its painted decoration but also for the start its ambitious figurative sculptural production. Busts such as this were made using sophisticated multi-part plaster molds, often taken from sculpted clay or wax models that themselves could be derived from classical sculpture or contemporary engravings. These molds were valuable workshop assets and were frequently reused, repaired, and subtly reworked, which explains why closely related busts can survive with small but telling differences in facial detail.
Unlike flat wares, large sculptural objects were hollow-cast to reduce weight and stress during firing, with separate sections joined by hand while still leather-hard. Tool marks and seam lines, sometimes still faintly visible beneath the glaze, are important indicators of authentic 17th-century production. Achieving sharp facial features under a thick tin glaze was particularly difficult, as the glaze tends to soften contours during firing; expressive eyes, noses, and mouths therefore signal a highly skilled modeler and kiln master. The high failure rate in the kiln made successful busts costly luxury objects.
 
Related examples are preserved in museum collections such as Paleis Het Loo and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The present bust represents a classical, imperial figure inspired by Roman antiquity. There are a few other comparable classical Delft potted busts known, such as a figure of Minerva or Alexander the Great (Inventory nr. RL 5, Paleis het Loo)  

While the exact identity of the figure remains under study, it most likely represent Julius Caesar (100–44 BC). Also a found print of Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) comes very close to the Delft bust. Both celebrated Roman statesmen frequently portrayed in classical sculpture. This bust stands as a vivid testament to Delft’s technical ingenuity and its fascination with classical antiquity. On stylistic and technical grounds, it is plausible — though not certain — that this type of bust was produced by leading Delft factories such as De Grieksche A (1657-1818) or De Metaale Pot (1670-1775), both active in the late 17th century.  

For comparable examples, see:
-Paleis het Loo, inventory nr. RL 1042; RL 1161.
-Paleis het Loo, inventory nr. RL 5.
-Kunstmuseum Den Haag, inventory nr. 0400577.
-Kunstmuseum Den Haag, inventory nr. 0400576.
-Rijksmuseum, inventory nr. BK-NM-12400-93.
-Rijksmuseum, inventory nr. BK-1960-11.

Condition: UV-Checked. No restorations. The buste is in very good condition with the typical wear normal for antique earthenware. The back has a manufacturing fault filled with tin glaze.

     
 ‘Buste van Julius Caesar en buste van Pompeius’,                           ‘Buste van Marcus Tullius Cicero’, Hans Witdoeck’ 1638.
source: www.rijksmuseum.com