March 7, 2015

Finest Hour 157, Winter 2012-13

Page 46

By Ian Morrison

In 1940, a Churchill bust sculpted by Jessie Borthwick and made of Parian Ware china was widely marketed, but I think I own the original. Whereas the commercial busts are finished china, my 10-inch-high example is plaster and bears Borthwick’s signature, as well as the date of July 1940. Unlike the china versions, the plinth does not carry the inscription “Winston Spencer-Churchill.”

I acquired the bust in 1976. It was originally in the office of a Lincolns Inn Fields firm of solicitors, and when the firm closed my father, who was managing clerk, was allowed to save the bust from the rubbish skip.

2024 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 41st International Churchill Conference. London | October 2024

More

It is almost identical to the Parian china version which was reproduced in 1940, but with subtle differences; it has wear suggesting that a cast was made from it for the china busts. I believe it This piece is however a plaque—but it may be one of a kind.

I hope these two items will be appreciated by collectors of Churchilliana, and that more information may be forthcoming from readers.

Mr. Morrison, of High Wycombe, Buckinhamshire, is a member of the Churchill Centre UK.