A village focal point and bit of a mystery.
We were contacted a while ago by a descendent of Parlanti’s Fine Art Foundries who asked if we knew whether or not the bronze infantryman figure surmounting East Wemyss War Memorial has a Parlanti foundry mark on it. The difficulty in answering this query has been complicated partly by the passage of time – it was cast over a century ago, and also because no foundry marks are apparent on the figure as seen in situ, which following two thefts is securely attached to the plinth. If anyone reading this knows if there were any marks were noted on the base of the statuette prior to its last being re-instated please do get in touch.
The War Memorial was initially made to commemorate local combatants who died during World War One (1914 – 1918), with further names added following later conflicts. The unveiling took place on 20 November, 1921. The curved, balustraded stonework was designed by a local architect and master of works at Wemyss Castle, Alexander Stewart Tod jnr, who had served in the war from 1915 until his demobilisation in 1919. Pre-war he worked with his father, Alexander Todd snr, who was master of works until his death c. 1917. The bronze figure surmounting the memorial is marked ‘J Tweed’ in credit to its designer the renowned Scottish sculptor, John Tweed (1869 – 1933), who trained with Rodin and is thought to have modelled it on a young English infantryman, Ephraim Dudley, who also survived WWI, unlike his brother who was killed in 1917. Tweed sculpted a number of memorial statues, including the central figure of the Rifle Brigade Monument at Westminster which is identical to the East Wemyss statuette but cast on a much larger scale and bears the Parlanti foundry mark.
But that doesn’t settle the matter of where the East Wemyss figure was actually made because sculptors often used different foundries to cast their works and the foundries were not always credited.
To further complicate matters, neither John Tweed’s or Parlanti records are complete. Intriguingly, the original maquette (small bronze model) of the figure, gifted by the sculptor to the Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles on their wedding in February, 1922, was sold not too long ago by auction to an unknown buyer as ‘East Wemyss War Memorial’. So although we know a lot about East Wemyss Memorial figure there is still uncertainty about its caster. All we can say for sure is that it is a larger version of the original Tweed maquette and appears to be a smaller version of the central rifleman figure at Westminster, so there is a some possibility that it could indeed be a Parlanti. Traditional bronze casting methods go way back in time.
Recent excavations, 2019, on the caves-site unearthed evidence of historic metal working on the site, though quite what was smelted or cast is unknown.
Second image is St Mary’s by the Sea, A Grant, 1897. Oil on board, 1857.