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474

Sir Henry Cheere (1703-1781) A pair of white marble seated figures of Vulcan and Venus, signed "Chee

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Sir Henry Cheere (1703-1781) A pair of white marble seated figures of Vulcan and Venus, signed Chee
Sir Henry Cheere (1703-1781) A pair of white marble seated figures of Vulcan and Venus, signed "Cheere". Vulcan, in contemplative pose and naked but for a headband and apron, holding a hammer in his left hand, signed 'Cheere Fect' to the shaped ridged base, 52cm high. Venus draped about her waist, modestly arranging her hair, signed 'Cheere Fec' to the similarly ridged base, 55cm high. Both figures are rather dusty and surface marked. Vulcan has a chip to his right big toe; Venus has had a broken neck and five breaks to her right arm and hair, and also damage to left toes and a crack to her left ankle. Her base also shows damage around the sides. This pair of figures is by the famous statuary sculptor, Sir Henry Cheere (1703-1781). A pupil of Scheemakers, he produced statues, monuments and chimneypieces in his yard near St.Margaret's Westminster. The two figures here are very possibly those listed as lots 97 and 98 in Christie's sale for Sir Robert Ainslie on 10th March 1809, described as 'A beautiful small sitting Figure of Vulcan, in Statuary by Sir H. Cheere' and 'A small sitting Figure of Venus, the Companion, very fine'. They were bought in at 20gns and 19gns respectively. Papworth Hall, Papworth Everard, Cambridgeshire, built 1809 by Charles Madryll Cheere (who had married Sir Henry Cheere's granddaughter, and then assumed the name Cheere on the death of his wife's uncle, Sir William Cheere, in 1808). On the death of the last member of the Cheere family, the house was offered for sale in 1892. Surprisingly the figures escaped the sale of the house contents in 1911 £5,000-8,000
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