Thomas Todd (head)

This statuette depicts Thomas Todd, a London druggist and tea dealer, who established a drug, tea and confectionary business in Fleet Street in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The face would have been modelled by Chinese artist Chitqua from memory and the features achieve a startling photographic realism.

Born in 1726 in Sunderland Todd moved to London in 1753 with his older brother Richard and was apprenticed to Ralph Willson on 17 October 1753, who was a druggist and member of the Salter’s Company in the City of London. Todd himself became a member of the Salter’s Company.

Tan-Che-Qua, known as Chitqua, arrived in London in 1769 aboard the East Indiaman ‘Horsendon’ from China, probably Amoy in Canton. He returned to China in 1772 and is known to have mixed in academic and artistic circles while in London. Very few of these clay figures survive. It was kept in the Todd family until purchased by the Museum in 2011.