INTERESTING GIFT.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 521, 2 August 1932, Page 12

INTERESTING GIFT.

Bust of John XVesley for Methodist Office. PRESENTED BY DR PINFOLD. The Rev Dr Pinfold has generously presented to the Methodist Connexional Office in Christchurch a x’ery fine china bust of John Wesley. It is one of the earliest examples of the famous bust by Enoch Wood, the noted sculptor, to whom John Wesley gave five sittings in 1781. The bust was bought by Dr Pinfold from the late Dr J. Alfred Sharp of the Epworth Press, London, and is understood to be the one that was preserved in the notable Botteley Collection at the Wesleyan Conference office in London.

Wesley told the sculptor that he regarded the bust as the best that had been made of him, although he felt it had rather a melancholy expression. Mr Wood made a small alteration whereupon Wesley begged him not to touch it further lest he should mar it. The expression referred to was probably due to the fact that during the sittings Wesley was generally engaged in writing, and the sculptor had some difficulty in drawing his attention from his work.

Dr Pinfold has also presented to the Methodist Connexional Office a walking stick made from wood cut in 1896 from a tree in the historic Russell Churchyard.