Curiger - wax portrait of a man

This is a wax miniature portrait from around 1815-1820. It is unsigned and the sitter is unknown.

The portrait is well modelled and is very similar to portraits by members of the Curiger family of Switzerland. Their work is normally on a slate background, whereas this one is on paper. The family was very well known in the late 18C and early 19C, and there were seven of them who modelled in wax.

It is unusual for it to be on a paper background, as that was nor rigid enough to support the wax, thus I am inclined to the opinion that the original background was broken at some stage, and the sculpture was then mounted on paper.

Wax portraits are even rarer than those on ivory, so correspondingly, fewer collectors ever see them, nor collect them. 1385

A wax miniature portrait in the collection by Joseph Benedict Curiger the Elder, can be see at;
Curiger, Joseph Benedict the Elder - portrait of man