THE CRAZE FOR ANTIQUITIES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 343, 19 March 1910, Page 5

THE CRAZE FOR ANTIQUITIES

\ A HIGH-PRICED BUST. ; ITS AGE QUESTIONED. ■ By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright Berlin, March 17. An analysis of the wax comprising , Flora "bust, which Dr W. Bode, direc- [ tor oi the Berlin Art Gallery, purchased 11 in England for a large price, attribut- . I ing it to Leonardo De Vinci, the fa- . i mous sixteenth century artist, shows t that it consists of lac, spermaceti and , beeswax, which is the same composition as the artist R. C. Lucas was in [ the habit of using. It is thought that , the bust is probably by Lucas, as sper- \ maceti was unknown before 1700. .. The bust is that of a highly draped woman. A Southampton auctioneer, j who handled it some eighteen months ago, in a subsequent letter to The \ Times, stated that R. C. Lucas made the bust for an art dealer named , Buchanan, who brought him a repute:! picture by Vinci as a model. This 1 picture was copied in oils by Albert Durer Lucas, son of R. C. Lucas. Buchanan asked R. C. Lucas if he could reproduce the subject of the picture in the form of a wax bust, as there would be a good market for it. Lucas undertook the commission, which was duly ' completed. Subsequently Buchanan " was unable to carry out his share oi the bargain, but took away the Vind picture, leaving the bust in the hands \ of the artist.