On the 24th of February 1774 the sculptor John Cheere supplied Wedgwood with busts of Shakespeare, Plato, Homer and Aristotle at half a guinea each[1]. They were listed in the 1774 Wedgwood and Bentley trade catalogue.
An unmarked example of the same size in the British Museum is illustrated by Reilly 1989, vol. I, p. 450 fig. 636. For a larger example at 48.2 cm see Wedgwood & Beyond, English Ceramics from the Starr Collection, Sotheby’s, New York, 23 October 2019, lot 96.
The model is after a marble by Rysbrack, a sculptor who John Cheere imitated.
William Shakespeare by John Michael Rysbrack, 1760, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Condition:
Small chips along the edges near the shoulders, no restoration.
References:
Reilly 1989
Robin Reilly, Wedgwood, (Stockton Press 1989), vol. I, p. 450 fig. 636
Price: £9,500
[1] Reilly, 1989, vol,. I, p. 450