After John Henning (English, 1771-1851): A set of eight framed 19th century plaster relief cast plaques depicting subjects from the 'Elgin' Parthenon marbles

each frame containing six different figural frieze plaques, the plaques, each 6cm x 24cm, the later frames, 28cm x 41cm (8)

During the 18th and 19th centuries the interest in classical sculpture was at its height and many original examples and copies adorned country houses and art academies all over Britain. The famous Parthenon frieze formed part of Lord Elgin's collection of Greek sculpture that was first displayed in England at Elgin's London home on the corner of Park Lane and Piccadilly from 1808 to invited guests.

John Henning, a Scottish born artist, was one of the first to access the collection and like most who saw it was struck by the beauty of the pieces. He embarked on a project of making models of the Parthenon and Phigaleian friezes, restoring the missing elements, an undertaking which he felt was not only useful for his own artistic gain, but also for pecuniary reasons. His initial studies in ivory were unsuccessful and so he intaglio carved slate which he used as moulds for plaster casting, producing small tablet sections which were sold in boxes. Working for Josiah Wedgwood at the time, Henning took twelve years to complete the reliefs.