It is perhaps a copy of the original plaster cast for the marble bust of Percivall Pott (1714–1788) by Peter Hollins, held at the Royal College of Surgeons. Pott was assistant surgeon to St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1745–1749, and surgeon, 1749–1787. He lectured in surgery, 1761–1787. Pott became master of anatomy to the newly formed Corporation of Surgeons in 1753 and went on to become master of the corporation in 1765. Pott worked at St Bartholomew's throughout his professional life, and for important occasions at the hospital, would wear a plum-coloured velvet coat with lace ruffles, knee britches, and a sword. His major preoccupation was with his private and ward patients, being intensely concerned with their basic comfort and sought to perform operations in a humane fashion.