A marble bust of Francis Bacon, Viscount of Saint Alban. Front view portrait, with shoulder length hair and beard and wearing ruff, buttoned pleated linen shirt and overcoat. On circular stepped base. This bust of the English philosopher, politician and writer Francis Bacon is based on an original made for the library at Trinity College in Cambridge by the French sculptor Roubiliac who came to work in England circa 1730. The authorship of this work is unknown but the practice of creating copies of busts after famous sculptors was not uncommon during this period. It reflects the English eighteenth century fashion for commissioning representations of prominent historic British figures, in particular from the fields of art and science, to decorate libraries and galleries in imitation of classical antiquity. Marble was the preferred material because of its strength and translucent appearance and because of its connection with the purity and simplicity of antique classical sculpture.