William Shakespeare
This is a very similar bust to the one in the Garrick Club, after Roubiliac, possibly taken from moulds by John Cheere.
The O'Neil business based in Canongate has been studied by Timothy Clifford.The family was of Italian origins and appears to have operated over two or three generations in Edinburgh, Luke O'Neil (c.1743-1823), Anthony O'Neil (c.1767/9-1849), probably his son, and Luke O'Neil junr (c.1789-1839),
The family appear to have continued to work in this area of business and John O'Neil was listed as a gold and silver caster in Berwick Street, London in the 1880's.
He subsequently worked for Alfred Gilbert in the 1890's and there is even a note that following Queen Victoria's death in 1901, there are references on successive days to O'Neill casting in brass both sides of the 1887 Art Union Jubilee medal and to delivering the obverse and reverse to the silversmith and jeweller, Heming of Conduit Street (Gilbert 1990 p.93; see also Laurence Brown, A Catalogue of British Historical Medals 1760-1960, vol.3, 1995, p.271, no.3693A).
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Id:2801 Q:1