Plaster cast depicting Nelson (face only), hollow-backed and with a metal hanging rod.

This item was presented to the Museum in June 1978 by the maker, J. P. Langhorn. He had been commissioned by the British Embassy in Caracas to make a plaster copy of the Nelson bust by Thaller and Ranson (SCU0088) for presentation to the Venezuelan Naval Museum. For practical reasons he made a mould from one of the many copies after it in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. When he had finished he brought his cast to Greenwich for inspection, and presented this 'mask' version as a gift. It was one of an edition of unknown number made as part of the same exercise especially for sale at the National Portrait Gallery. The NMM also purchased a second copy of the full plaster bust from the V&A mould (SCU0093).