SIR FRANCIS LEGGAT CHANTREY (1781-1842) PLASTER BUST OF MARY SOMERVILLE
DATED 1840
£400
Auction: 4 October 2012 at 12:00 BST
Description
the sitter with ringlets framing her face and a topknot bun, the reverse inscribed and dated, on a socle base
Dimensions
77cm high
Footnote
Provenance: By family descent to the current owners who are related by marriage to Woronzow Grieg (1805-1865), son of Mary Somerville and her first husband Captain Samuel Grieg.
Note: Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a Scottish science and mathematics scholar and writer working at a time when few women were recognised in these disciplines. Mainly self-taught, she learned algebra and geometry despite the disapproval of her family. It was only after the death of her first husband that she found herself in the position to make her own decisions and follow her own academic pursuits. She made notable contributions in the field of astronomy and was one of the first women admitted to the Royal Society.