Shepherd and shepherdess

Once thought to be the work of John Bacon the Elder, in 1984 it was suggested that this relief should be identified with one exhibited by Collins at the Society of Artists exhibition held at Spring Gardens, London, in 1761 and described as 'for a chimney-piece; a clown and country girl'. Similar plaques may be found in a chimneypiece at Bretton Hall, near Wakefield, Yorkshire, and in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Merseyside. A closely related marble relief also acquired by the V&A from the Jones collection, originally attributed to Joseph Nollekens, has recently been re-attributed to Sir Henry Cheere or Collins (inv. no. 1176-1882). Collins served his apprenticeship under Cheere, and later became well known for his chimneypiece reliefs.