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ID number:  BIRRC-A0010
Institution:  Research and Cultural Collections
Named collection:  Campus Collection of Fine and Decorative Art
Artist / Maker:  Williamson, F. J.
Title / Object name:  Portrait bust of Sir Josiah Mason
Object type:  Sculpture
Date made:  1881
Materials:  Plaster, painted pale terracotta
Measurements:  76.2 cm high
BIRRC-A0010.JPG

Head and shoulders bust, all'antica with no arms, on a circular foot, looking slightly to viewer's right. A corbel carries a plaque which reads, 'Sir Josiah Mason/ 1795-1881 / Founder of Mason/College'.

Notes:  Josiah Mason was born in 1795 in Kidderminster. He began working as a purveyor and manufacturer of split rings for machinery but in 1829, having purchased his own factory, he began to manufacture steel pen nibs. By 1874 his business was the largest of its kind in existence and a year later it was sold. As well as his professional activities, Mason also devoted alot of his time and money to charitable causes, one of which was Mason Scientific College which was later absorbed as part of Birmingham University. He died in 1881.

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