Mrs Elizabeth Best
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Mrs Elizabeth Best” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, low relief portraits in wax became popular in Britain and they were often exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Society of Artists and elsewhere. Waxes were used in a similar way to prints and medals, in order to disseminate the image of the sitter, or, like miniature paintings or silhouettes as portable mementoes.
Read on
The finishing on this portrait is astoundingly detailed. Low relief polychrome wax portraits were produced using the same basic principles as monochrome ones: modelling in soft wax, taking a plaster mould and then casting. However when the initial mould was finished it was cut into separate sections and each part cast in the prevailing colour. The pieces were then joined together on their backing using molten wax and the surface finishing completed in a similar way. On the surface additional sheets of sculpted wax and chasing has been used to add further detail.
Portraits of Elizabeth Best's husband, Thomas and two of their children are also in the collection.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.89-1965
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
