John J. Gredler Works of Art

Pair of Regency Bronze Figures of Reclining Whippets on Green Marble Bases

A very fine pair of English Regency bronze whippets or greyhounds on verdi antico marble book form bases, after Thomas Weeks. Each dog sculpture is beautifully cast with their individual personalities. Clearly after, and possibly by, Thomas Weeks.  Circa 1820.

6" h  x  6" w  x  5" d

These whippets are resonant of the early nineteenth-century work of Thomas Weeks (d. 1834) who established a 'Royal Mechanical Museum' or emporium in Tichbourne Street in about 1797. The attractions included various animated animals and insects, ingenious clocks, musical instruments, elaborate temples, toys and other such peculiarities that appealed to the London public in the late 18th and early 19th Century (C. Gilbert, 'Some Weeks cabinets reconsidered', The Connoisseur, May 1971, p. 15). A similar pair of recumbent greyhounds was sold from the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth; Christie's, New York, 21 March 2015, lot 1225 ($7,500, including premium).

Wear consistent with age and use. The pooch with crossed paws has a small separation on a seam of the top paw. Shown in photos.