Name/Title
Relief of Wade Hampton IEntry/Object ID
1972.149.1Description
Plaster relief medallion of a man's bust facing the viewer's left. The relief is contained in a circular ogee frame with a faded rose-colored velvet inner frame and convex glass. The crown of the frame is ornate with a metal oak leaf cluster.Type of Sculpture
ReliefArtwork Details
Medium
PlasterSubject Person
Wade Hampton IContext
Wade Hampton (1750–1835) was a politician, planter, and soldier, born to Anthony Hampton (1715–1776) and Elizabeth Preston (1720–1776) in the Virginia Colony. He settled in South Carolina, where he served as a soldier during the American Revolution and later as a member of the House of Representatives. He also fought in the War of 1812 before resigning and returning to South Carolina. In 1823, Hampton purchased what is now known as the Hampton-Preston Mansion from Ainsley Hall (1783–1823) and acquired several other homes and plantations across the South, all operated through enslaved labor. At the time of his death, he enslaved over 3,000 individuals.
Hampton lived in the mansion with his third wife, Mary Cantey Hampton (1779–1863), their six children, and numerous grandchildren. Mary Cantey outlived not only her husband but also most of their children and several grandchildren. Hampton and many of his immediate descendants are buried in Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Cemetery in Columbia.
His daughter, Caroline Hampton Preston (1807–1883), married John Smith Preston (1809–1881), and they lived in the Hampton-Preston Mansion. They were patrons of American sculptor Hiram Powers (1805–1873), who created several works of art for the family, including a fountain, a bust, and this casting, all part of Historic Columbia's permanent collection.
This bust may have been created after Wade Hampton's death and based on an 1812 portrait by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (1770–1852). While the exact date of this piece and the identity of its commissioner are uncertain, it was likely completed around the time of Hampton's death in 1835.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Hiram PowersRole
MakerDate made
circa 1835Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Hiram Powers, Wade Hampton I
