Ancient world Figures in wax of their deities were used in the
funeral rites of the
ancient Egyptians, and deposited among other offerings in their graves; many of these are now preserved in museums. That the Egyptians also modelled fruits can be learned from numerous allusions in early literature. Among the
Greeks during their best art period, wax figures were largely used as dolls for children; statuettes of
deities were modelled for
votive offerings and for religious ceremonies, and wax images to which magical properties were attributed were treasured by the people. Wax figures and models held a still more important place among the
ancient Romans. The masks (
effigies or ) of ancestors, modelled in wax, were preserved by
patrician families, this being one of the privileges of the nobles, and these masks were exposed to view on ceremonial occasions, and carried in their funeral processions. The closing days of the
Saturnalia were known as , on account of the custom of making, towards the end of the festival, presents of wax models of fruits and waxen statuettes which were fashioned by the Sigillarii. Nelson's effigy was a pure tourist attraction, commissioned the year after his death in 1805, and his burial in
St Paul's Cathedral after a government decision that major public figures should in future be buried there. Concerned for their revenue from visitors, the Abbey decided it needed a rival attraction for admirers of Nelson.
Middle Ages The practice of wax modelling can be traced through the
Middle Ages, when votive offerings of wax figures were made to
churches. The memory and lineaments of monarchs and great personages were preserved by means of wax masks. The bronze medallions of
Pisanello,
Francesco Francia and of the other famous medalists owe their value to the properties of wax: all early
bronzes and metalwork were cast from wax models first. The Victoria and Albert Museum has a wax 'Descent from the Cross' by
Jacopo Sansovino which was probably used by painters
Perugino and
del Sarto as well as a small study of a slave by
Michelangelo and several wax pieces by
Giambologna. Particularly noteworthy is his 'Florence Triumphant over Pisa' modello. The
Royal Collection's red chalk
écorché attributed to Michelangelo is considered as a drawing of a wax model like those Michelangelo himself made. The British Museum has a wax portrait medallion of Michelangelo made from life in 1560 by
Leone Leoni. Two wax modelli by
Baccio Bandinelli still exist, one of 'Hercules and Cacus' (
Bode Museum, Berlin, Ident. Nr. 2612) and the other of Neptune (
Musée Fabre, Montpellier). The Museo Nazionale del
Bargello in Florence has the only surviving wax modello by
Benvenuto Cellini, 'Perseo con la testa di Medusa' (inv. cere, n.424), a study for his bronze statue at the
Loggia dei Lanzi. The
Rijksmuseum has the 'Genius of Cosimo I de' Medici', a modello in red wax by
Bartolomeo Ammannati.
16th and 17th centuries There are a number of very high quality wax figures from the 16th and 17th centuries, mostly portrait figures and religious or mythological scenes, often with many figures.
Antonio Abondio (1538–91) pioneered the coloured wax
portrait miniature in
relief, working mainly for the
Habsburg and other courts of Northern Europe, and his son Alessandro continued in his footsteps.
18th century Bologna was an important centre for anatomical wax modelling in the 18th century with
Ercole Lelli,
Giovanni Manzolini and his wife
Anna Morandi Manzolini. The Museo di
Palazzo Poggi shows a wax portrait of her husband dissecting a heart and one of herself dissecting a brain as well as anatomical models of the eye. The anatomy room also displays a series of figures by Ercole Lelli and a copy of Florentine
Clemente Susini’s once famous
Medici Venus. The museum of the
Medical University of Vienna houses a large collection of Susini's wax models, while the University of Bologna houses the Luigi Cattaneo Anatomical Wax Museum. , c. 1775
Patience Wright, was a sculptor of wax figures, and the first recognized American-born sculptor. The Royal Collection Trust owns a wax bust of George III by Samuel Percy (1750-1820) and several engravings made after wax portraits like
Jean-Charles François's portrait of
Josephus II (1751) after wax modeller Florian Zeiss (1712–80). Other artists were inspired by wax works by or Josef Müller (fl.1793). Towards the close of the 18th century, modeling of medallion portraits and of relief groups, the latter frequently
polychromatic, was in considerable vogue throughout
Europe. Many of the artists were women.
John Flaxman executed in wax many
portraits and other relief figures which
Josiah Wedgwood translated into
pottery for his
Jasperware. or
David d'Angers. The famous wax bust attributed to
Leonardo da Vinci acquired in 1909 by the Museum of Berlin is the work of an English
forger who worked about 1840. The wax model of a head, at the Wicar Museum at
Lille, belongs probably to the school of
Canova. Wax flower and fruit sculptures were popular in the 1840s and 1850s in Britain, with noted sculptors including the London-based
Emma Peachey and the
Mintorn family. There was a section for this work at the
Great Exhibition of 1851. Wax flowers became popular in many parts of Europe in the same time period, and the Swedish wax flower sculptors
Emma Fürstenhoff and
Fredrika Ramstedt both had international careers.
Today Wax-works, not intended as fine art, subsequently became popular attractions, consisting principally of images of historical or notorious personages, made up of waxen masks on lay figures in which sometimes mechanism is fitted to give motion to the figure. Such an exhibition of wax-works with mechanical motions was shown in Germany early in the eighteenth century. Waxworks are frequently made presented by contemporary artists who take advantage of its lifelike and uncanny qualities. While the artist often creates a wax self-portrait, there are examples too of imaginary personalities and historical personae. For example,
Gavin Turk had his portrait made as
Sid Vicious ("Pop", Waxwork in vitrine 279 x 115 x 115 cm, 1993),
Jan Fabre as a notorious thief (homage to
Jacques Mesrine (Bust) II, 2008. Lifesize. Private collection.ta.) Eleanor Crook’s bronze sculpture Santa Medicina in London’s Science Museum has a wax “patient” modelled at half life size sheltered in a vitrine within its robes. The museum of medieval torture instruments in Amsterdam also used wax figures in order to demonstrate the use of machines and tools of their display. ==Use in moulage==