circa 1885, designed by Léonard Morel-Ladeuil, of rectangular form, modelled in relief with the marriage scene from `Much Ado About Nothing`, topped by a portrait medallion of William Shakespeare crowned with a laurel wreath and flanked by a pair of putti, the corners with masks of 'Comedy' and 'Tragedy', the sides decorated with trophies of music, the bottom with the title plaque, the field inscribed `Morel-Ladeuil fecit 1884`, 'Elkington' numbered `1311`, unframed

h: 44cm w: 59cm d: cm

Other notes: Trained in the Paris workshop of Antoine Vecht (1799-1869) and a skilled chaser, Morel-Ladeuil was one of a number of prestigious French artists hired by Elkington & Co. Ltd. for their design skills. There was a tremendous revival of Shakespeare’s plays in London theatres at this time, and the scene is said to represent the actual set of the Lyceum Theatre production of 1882.