A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes.
Some wax museums have a special section dubbed the "Chamber of Horrors", in which the more grisly exhibits are displayed. Some collections are more specialized, as, for example, collections of wax medical models once used for training medical professionals. Many museums or displays in historical houses that are not wax museums as such use wax figures as part of their displays. The origin of wax museums goes back to the early 18th century at least, and wax funeral effigies of royalty and some other figures exhibited by their tombs had essentially been tourist attractions well before that.
The making of life-size wax figures wearing real clothes grew out of the funeral practices of European royalty. In the Middle Ages it was the habit to carry the corpse, fully dressed, on top of the coffin at royal funerals, but this sometimes had unfortunate consequences in hot weather, and the custom of making an effigy in wax for this role grew, again wearing actual clothes so that only the head and hands needed wax models. After the funeral these were often displayed by the tomb or elsewhere in the church, and became a popular attraction for visitors, which it was often necessary to pay to view.[1]
The Westminster Abbey Museum in London has a collection of British royal funeral effigies made of varying materials going back to that of Edward III of England's wooden likeness[2] (died 1377), as well as those of figures such as the naval hero Horatio Nelson, and Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond, who also had her parrot stuffed and displayed. From the funeral of Charles II in 1680 they were no longer placed on the coffin but were still made for later display.[1] The effigy of Charles II, open-eyed and standing, was displayed over his tomb until the early 19th century, when all the Westminster effigies were removed from the abbey itself.[citation needed] Nelson's effigy was a pure tourist attraction, commissioned the year after his death in 1805, and his burial not in the Abbey but in St Paul's Cathedral after a government decision that major public figures should in future be buried there. Concerned for their revenue from visitors, the Abbey decided it needed a rival attraction for admirers of Nelson.[3]
In European courts including that of France the making of posed wax figures became popular. Antoine Benoist (1632–1717) was a French court painter and sculptor in wax to King Louis XIV. He exhibited forty-three wax figures of the French Royal Circle at his residence in Paris. Thereafter, the king authorized the figurines to be shown throughout France. His work became so highly regarded that James II of England invited him to visit England in 1684. There he executed works of the English king and members of his court. A seated figure of Peter the Great of Russia survives, made by an Italian artist, after the Tsar was impressed by the figures he saw at the Chateau of Versailles. The Danish court painter Johann Salomon Wahl executed figures of the Danish king and queen in about 1740.[4]
The 'Moving Wax Works of the Royal Court of England', a museum or exhibition of 140 life-size figures, some apparently with clockwork moving parts, opened by Mrs Mary in Fleet Street in London was doing excellent business in 1711. Philippe Curtius, waxwork modeller to the French court, opened his Cabinet de Cire as a tourist attraction in Paris in 1770, which remained open until 1802. In 1783 this added a Caverne des Grands Voleurs ("Cave of the Great Thieves"), an early "Chamber of Horrors". He bequeathed his collection to his protégée Marie Tussaud, who during the French Revolution made death masks of the executed royals.[5]
Madame Tussauds, historically associated with London, is the most famous name associated with wax museums, although it was not the earliest wax museum, as is sometimes thought. In 1835 Madame Tussaud established her first permanent exhibition in London's Baker Street. By the late 19th century most large cities had some kind of commercial wax museum, like the Musée Grévin in Paris or the Panoptikum Hamburg, and for a century these remained highly popular. In the late 20th century it became harder for them to compete with other attractions.
Among the most notable wax museums is the Life of Christ Museum located in Fatima, the city internationally known for the phenomenon of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that allegedly occurred in Portugal. Tony Julius, director of the London company that manufactured the wax figures and former collaborator of the Madame Tussauds Museum, considered it the third best wax museum in the world.
One of the most popular and famous wax museums in the United States for decades was The Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California, near Knott's Berry Farm. The museum opened in 1962 and through the years added many wax figures of famous show business figures. Several stars attended the unveilings of the wax incarnations and some added their handprints, footprints, and/or signatures in cement there ala Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The museum was profiled on a number of television programs and occasionally referenced on TV dramas given its longtime success as a tourist attraction, no doubt in part due to the close proximity to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. The museum closed its doors on October 31, 2005, after years of dwindling attendance.
Another popular wax museum is the Musée Conti Wax Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, which features wax figures portraying the city's history as well as a "Haunted Dungeon" section of wax figures of famous characters from horror films and literature. This museum is now closed and the Conti building was converted into condos. The museum was rumored to reopen at Jazzland theme park some indefinite date in the future but that park itself closed before long.[6] Several of the wax figures are now on display in Darrow, Louisiana at The Great River Road Museum near Houmas House.[7]
BibleWalk is a Christian wax museum in Mansfield, Ohio.[8][9] It has received attention for its use of celebrity wax figures in its religious scenes,[10] originally a cost-saving measure when new wax figures were deemed too expensive.[8]
The Royal London Wax Museum was open in downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from 1970 to 2010 in the Steamship Terminal building, it featured "royalty to rogues and the renowned." It was forced to close when the building required seismic upgrades.
The National Wax Museum in Dublin, Ireland is a wax museum which hosts well over a hundred figures. For many years it has had only one sculptor, PJ Heraty, who continued producing figures even while the museum was closed. Meanwhile, it could be re-opened at a new location. During the last few years some other new wax museums are starting around the world. In 2009 Dreamland Wax Museum opened in Gramado, in the south of Brazil.
The National Presidential Wax Museum[citation needed] in Keystone, South Dakota is the only wax museum in the world to feature every U.S. president. Their exhibits also include other notable figures from history such as General George Custer, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Sitting Bull. Originally created by the famed sculptor Katherine Stubergh, the museum includes death and life masks of notable Hollywood celebrities including Mae West and Sid Grauman. Their most revered exhibit is a depiction of George W. Bush standing on the rubble of the World Trade Center with NYFD fireman Bob Beckwith following the attacks on September 11, 2001.
India's first wax museum opened in December 2005 in Kanyakumari. Now located to Kanyakumari Railway Station it contains wax statues of celebrities at Multi Functional Complex Kanyakumari. The biggest wax museum in India named Mother's Wax Museum was opened in November 2014 in New Town, Kolkata.[11] Another branch opened in July 2008 at the historical site of Old Goa with a collection of religious statues.
Madame Tussauds opened its first museum in India at New Delhi in 2017.
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum founded in London in 1835 by the French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. One of the early main attractions was the Chamber of Horrors, which appeared in advertising in 1843.
Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud, commonly known as Madame Tussaud, was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London.
An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain traditions around New Year, Carnival and Easter. In European cultures, effigies were used in the past for punishment in formal justice when the perpetrator could not be apprehended, and in popular justice practices of social shaming and exclusion. Additionally, "effigy" is used for certain traditional forms of sculpture, namely tomb effigies, funeral effigies and coin effigies.
The Tussauds Group was an entertainment company which is now a part of Merlin Entertainments. It was based in Poole, Dorset from where it managed a portfolio of brands and over 50 attractions that included the Madame Tussauds waxworks, Legoland Theme Parks, Legoland Discovery Centres, Sea Life Centres, PortAventura Park in Spain, Gardaland in Italy, Heide Park Resort in Germany, The Dungeons, The London Eye, The Blackpool Tower attractions, The Orlando Eye, Warwick Castle, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, and Chessington World of Adventures.
Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus was a walk-through exhibition celebrating the history of rock and pop music, featuring its major figures recreated in wax. It was located at the top four floors of the then-newly refurbished London Pavilion building at Piccadilly Circus, London. Predominantly British artists featured, but many American artists were also included. The attraction told the story of rock and pop from the 1950s to the then-present day by using videos, music, narration and audio-animatronic figures.
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief.
Philippe Curtius (1737–1794) was a Swiss physician and wax modeller who taught Marie Tussaud the art of wax modelling.
Louis Joseph Kenny Tussaud (1869–1938) was a great-grandson of Marie Tussaud, creator of the Madame Tussauds wax museums. He worked at Madame Tussauds museum as a wax figure sculptor but left when his brother John Theodore Tussaud became chief artist and manager of the museum after a limited company was formed in 1888 and sold in 1889. The main shareholder was Edwin Josiah Poyser.
Madame Tussauds Las Vegas is a wax museum located in the Las Vegas Strip at The Venetian Las Vegas casino resort in Paradise, Nevada. The attraction opened in 1999, becoming the first Madame Tussauds venue to open in the United States. It features over 100 wax figures of famous celebrities, film and TV characters, athletes, musicians and Marvel superheroes, as well a 4D movie theatre. Subsequent Madame Tussauds venues opened in the U.S in New York City in 2000, Washington D.C. in 2007, and Hollywood, California in 2009.
Madame Tussauds Hong Kong is a wax museum in Hong Kong which opened in 2000 as the first Asian branch of the wax museum chain founded by Marie Tussaud. Located at the Peak Tower on Hong Kong Island, the museum houses nearly 100 wax figures of internationally known personalities, with Asian figures taking up more than a third of the total, of which sixteen were Hongkongers. The wax figures are featured in a range of themed settings such as Hong Kong Glamour, Music Icons, Historical and National Heroes, The Champions, and World Premiere.
The Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, was an attraction with over 270 wax figures. Originator Thomas Fong opened the museum in 1963 after seeing the wax figures at the Seattle World's Fair and it was run by the Fong Family until its closure in 2013. It has attracted over 400,000 visitors a year.
Madame Tussauds Hollywood is a wax museum and tourist attraction located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It is the ninth location for the Tussauds franchise, which was set up by sculptor Marie Tussaud, and is located just west of the TCL Chinese Theatre. Madame Tussauds is owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments.
The Chamber of Horrors is an exhibition at Madame Tussauds in London, being an exhibition of waxworks of notorious murderers and other infamous historical figures. The gallery first opened as a "Separate Room" in Marie Tussaud's 1802 exhibition in London and quickly became a success as it showed historical personalities and artefacts rather than the freaks of nature popular in other waxworks of the day. It closed in April 2016 but reopened 6 years later in October 2022.
Madame Tussauds New York is a tourist attraction located on 42nd Street in the Times Square neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Madame Tussauds was founded by the wax sculptor, Marie Tussaud, and is now operated by the United Kingdom-based entertainment company, Merlin Entertainments. The Madame Tussauds New York location opened on November 15, 2000.
Madame Tussauds San Francisco was a wax museum located in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco in California. The attraction opened on June 26, 2014 and became the 17th Madame Tussauds museum to open worldwide. Madame Tussauds San Francisco closed on August 3, 2024 after 10 years in operation. The attraction featured wax figures of famous figures from movies, music, politics, popular culture and sport. It also celebrated “The Spirit of San Francisco” with wax figures of local artists, musicians and activists from the city's past.
Madame Tussauds Washington D.C. was a wax museum located in Washington D.C., the capital city of the United States. The attraction opened in October 2007 and became the 12th Madame Tussauds venue worldwide, and featured wax sculptures of famous figures from politics, culture, sports, music and television. In comparison to other Madame Tussauds venues, the venue features more waxworks of political figures, with sculptures of all 45 U.S. presidents displayed.
Madame Tussauds Blackpool is a wax museum located in Blackpool, United Kingdom. The attraction opened in 2011, replacing the previous Louis Tussauds waxworks. It features over 80 wax figures of celebrities, film and television characters, athletes and musicians. As of April 2024, Alison Hammond is the latest waxwork figure to be added to the museum's collection.
Madame Tussauds India is a wax museum and tourist attraction It is the twenty-second location for the Tussauds, which was set up by French sculptor Marie Tussaud. Madame Tussauds is owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments. Now it has been shifted to Noida in July 2022.
Madame Tussauds Vienna is a wax museum and tourist attraction located at the famous amusement park Wiener Prater in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Marie Tussaud and is the eleventh location for the Tussauds franchise. It officially opened on 1 April 2011 by the former Austrian president Heinz Fischer. So far, it features more than 90 figures on three floors. Madame Tussauds is now owned and operated by the United Kingdom-based entertainment company Merlin Entertainments.
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