Coloured wax model of a male, half skeletal, half living and dressed in regency clothing, England, 1810-1850

Coloured wax model of male, half skeletal, half living and dressed in regency clothes, badly damaged, English, 1810-1850

This gentleman is dressed in Regency clothing typical of the first half of the 1800s. He is skilfully created out of wax. He is half man and half skeleton. The statue may have been made for one of three reasons: a darkly comic novelty, a ‘memento mori’ (a reminder of death), or a teaching aid.

He is paired with a separate female statue (A78828). These two examples of regency waxwork were exhibited in Montreal, Canada at the International and Universal Exposition in 1967.