William Theed
Juno
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Victoria and Albert Museum
RoomBritish Galleries, Room 122London, United Kingdom
On public display.
- Checked
- 7 days ago
- In this state since
- Sep 25, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the sculpture
Object Type
This bust was copied from a much larger antique head known as the Juno Ludovisi, now in the Palazzo Altemps, Rome. It was an apt subject for Copeland's new statuary porcelain, which imitated marble.
Materials & Making
Copeland and Garrett claimed to be the first to develop statuary porcelain on a commercial scale in about 1845. This unglazed bone china was vitrified through the use of feldspar, which gave it its marble-like appearance. The Great Exhibition juries awarded Copeland's 'statuary porcelain' a coveted prize medal for 'general excellence'.
People
William Taylor Copeland became the owner of the Spode porcelain factory in 1833 and Thomas Garrett joined him as partner until 1847 when the company became W.T. Copeland & Sons. The firm produced unglazed porcelain until about 1930.
Read on
The artist, William Theed (1804-1891), trained in Rome and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1842. He often produced works based on classical and biblical subjects.
Subjects Depicted
The antique head from which Copeland's Juno was modelled was originally part of a colossal statue, the body of which is now lost. Scholars of classical sculpture now think that she may represent a real person - probably a Roman noblewoman of the 1st century BC, such as Mark Antony's daughter Antonia, or Livia, the wife of Augustus.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 2781-1901
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 7 days ago
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
