Mario Raggi, sculptor, was born in Carrara, Italy, in 1821. He studied art at the Accademia delle Belle Arti, Carrara, until he was aged 17 at which point he moved to Rome. By 1850 Raggi had left Italy for London, but it was not until 1875 that he set up his own studio. His principal work lay in memorial busts and statues of which his commissions came from far and wide. His designs included the Jubilee memorial of Queen Victoria for Hong Kong, which was copied throughout the Commonwealth, as well as a number of statues including those of Lord Swansea for Swansea and W. G. Gladstone for Manchester. Raggi died at his home, The Mount, Boundstone, Fernham, Surrey, on the 26th November 1907.