The individuality of the facial features of this person indicates that it is an actual unknown individual (and not a celebrity like Bach). The bust passed from hand to hand in the 1960s at the Van Marle and Bignell auction house in The Hague. This auction house was founded in 1919 by Ludwig van Marle (1891-1929) and Charles John Robbert Bignell (1890-1957). After Van Marle’s death, Bignell continues alone. During World War II, the auction house was involved in the trade in Jewish looted art, something for which Bignell was convicted after the war. From then on, his son took over the company and ran it until 1978. According to tradition, it is a ‘Drentse Herenboer’ (a wealthy farm owner) from the beginning of the twentieth century. We have already looked up several guides about the history of Drenthe (my home province), but have not yet found this specific example. A former curator of the Drents Museum also assisted in the search via the Vereniging Vrienden Nieuwe Kunst 1900. It is a plaster bust, probably made in preparation for a statue in precious metal. It is 39 centimeters high and the cast shows name (of maker or shown) and year (1919). So to be continued! 200 €