Queen Mary II, possibly John van Nost I, ca. 1695
possibly John van Nost I

Queen Mary II

ca. 1695 · Model · 61 × 30 cm

Can I see it?

Yes, on view now

Where is “Queen Mary II” now? Victoria and Albert Museum, British Galleries, Room 54, London. Yes, on view now. Checked September 25, 2026.

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

RoomBritish Galleries, Room 54

Closed· opens at 10:00 AM

On public display.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the sculpture

Object Type

The Queen is shown holding an orb and sceptre and looking towards her left. She wears a crown and bejewelled dress. The statue for which this was a model has since been lost, following the fire at the Exchange of 1838.

People

John Nost was a native of Malines in The Netherlands. He is first recorded in England around 1678, working at Windsor Castle under Hugh May. His workshop was in the Haymarket and he specialised in lead figures, though he also worked in other materials, such as stone and terracotta. He had many important patrons and was commissioned to make a number of garden figures for great houses and palaces, including Castle Howard and Hampton Court Palace.

Materials & Making

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Terracotta (baked clay) was commonly used for sculptors' models. The clay could be modelled freely before firing, and when fired was a durable material which could be painted or scaled up into a larger piece. Often, as must have happened with this piece, the terracotta model was valued on its own account.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Details

Accession number
A.208-1946

What it shows

In the catalog

Sources

In the same room · British Galleries, Room 54, Victoria and Albert Museum

Museum page