The Home Beautiful: A Wax Relief Portrait of Doctor James Gregory, 1791

Wax Relief of Doctor James Gregory
James Tassie, 1791
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at several wax relief portraits.  They’re usually more colorful and cartoonish than this wax portrait relief which depicts Doctor James Gregory (1753-1821).  The sculpture was made by James Tassie in 1791.

Dr. Gregory was a Professor of Medicine at Edinburgh, and the inventor of Gregory powder—a favored laxative of the Eighteenth Century which was made of dried rhubarb.  Yay!

 James Tassie (1735-1799) is best known for his work as a cameo and gem-engraver.  Unlike most of his contemporaries, the majority of his medallions in wax were modeled from life and used as sketch-models for casting in glass paste.