Pewter charger c.1720.
Item Ref
8927
A large Queen Anne or George I singlr reed rim pewter charger, 18 inches in diameter.
Original owner's initials to the rim, E.B.(?).
SIZE: 18 inches diameter.
PROVENANCE:The Blue Boar Hotel, Maldon, Essex.
Original owner's initials to the rim, E.B.(?).
SIZE: 18 inches diameter.
PROVENANCE:The Blue Boar Hotel, Maldon, Essex.
£195
Portrait of a Member of the Palmes ...
Item Ref
8991
Oil on canvas in gilded oakleaf frame.
The sitter, depicted with a feigned stone oval, wears a faux Roman military tunic beneath his cloak; this was called 'elevating the sitter' and was intended to give the portrait a timeless Classical quality, as was his silk drape....this despite his fashionable full wig and cravat! Lely, and others, used this motif on many occasions.
The PALMES family of Naburn Hall, York, and the cadet branches of Lindley Hall, North Yorkshire; Ashwell, Rutland; and Carcraig in Ireland, are an ancient English aristocratic family, noted for their adherence to Catholicism. The Palmes family of Naburn are directly descended from Mary Boleyn and her daughter, Catherine, who is generally believed to have been the daughter of Henry VIII of England while Mary was his mistress. Mary's sister, Anne Boleyn, afterwards became the second wife of Henry VIII and the mother of Elizabeth I of England:
The family were originally seated at Taunton Deane, Somerset, where Manfred de Palma/Palmes had by the "Gift of Milo Earl of Hereford & Constable of England, 53 Oxgangs of Land and 25 Messages in the Lordship of Taunton Dean". Manfred was "known to be living in the sixth year of the reign of King Stephen, 1140 AD".
The Palmes family of Naburn can trace its ancestry through a maternal line to Robert de Todeni (died 1088), a powerful Norman baron. Todeni's importance is reflected by the 80 estates in 11 counties that he was granted by William across England. His principal Lordship was at Belvoir where he built his home, Belvoir Castle, before establishing Belvoir Priory in 1076. Among Todeni's many estates was Naburn. In 1226, William Palmes of Taunton acquired the Lordship of Naburn through his marriage to Matilda, daughter or sister of Richard de Watterville; a direct descendant of Robert de Todeni from whom the land had passed to the Wattervilles. From then on, the estate continued to descend uninterrupted from father to son within the Palmes family until 1974, on the death of Commander George Bryan Palmes. The Palmes family were said to have been "unique in being able to boast an unbroken heritage". Edmund Burke described the family as "one of serious antiquity".
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles ll, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, and his Followers, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: 37.25 x 32.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: By descent through the Palmes family to a branch now resident in Kent.
The sitter, depicted with a feigned stone oval, wears a faux Roman military tunic beneath his cloak; this was called 'elevating the sitter' and was intended to give the portrait a timeless Classical quality, as was his silk drape....this despite his fashionable full wig and cravat! Lely, and others, used this motif on many occasions.
The PALMES family of Naburn Hall, York, and the cadet branches of Lindley Hall, North Yorkshire; Ashwell, Rutland; and Carcraig in Ireland, are an ancient English aristocratic family, noted for their adherence to Catholicism. The Palmes family of Naburn are directly descended from Mary Boleyn and her daughter, Catherine, who is generally believed to have been the daughter of Henry VIII of England while Mary was his mistress. Mary's sister, Anne Boleyn, afterwards became the second wife of Henry VIII and the mother of Elizabeth I of England:
The family were originally seated at Taunton Deane, Somerset, where Manfred de Palma/Palmes had by the "Gift of Milo Earl of Hereford & Constable of England, 53 Oxgangs of Land and 25 Messages in the Lordship of Taunton Dean". Manfred was "known to be living in the sixth year of the reign of King Stephen, 1140 AD".
The Palmes family of Naburn can trace its ancestry through a maternal line to Robert de Todeni (died 1088), a powerful Norman baron. Todeni's importance is reflected by the 80 estates in 11 counties that he was granted by William across England. His principal Lordship was at Belvoir where he built his home, Belvoir Castle, before establishing Belvoir Priory in 1076. Among Todeni's many estates was Naburn. In 1226, William Palmes of Taunton acquired the Lordship of Naburn through his marriage to Matilda, daughter or sister of Richard de Watterville; a direct descendant of Robert de Todeni from whom the land had passed to the Wattervilles. From then on, the estate continued to descend uninterrupted from father to son within the Palmes family until 1974, on the death of Commander George Bryan Palmes. The Palmes family were said to have been "unique in being able to boast an unbroken heritage". Edmund Burke described the family as "one of serious antiquity".
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles ll, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, and his Followers, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: 37.25 x 32.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: By descent through the Palmes family to a branch now resident in Kent.
£4,500
Portrait of Prince Rupert, mid 17th century; ...
Item Ref
9068
Oil on canvas in a magnificent carved and gilt frame. It shows Rupert at about the age of 14 when he first became a soldier. After a pattern favoured by van Honthorst who painted Rupert, at different ages, several times. His Studio and those of his Circle produced a number of versions of van Honthorst's portraits of the senior Royalists.
Difficult to date precisely, most of these copies were produced around the middle of the 17th century, particularly during the time of the English Civil War and the King's execution in 1649. They were much in demand to adorn the private walls of Royalist supporters.
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Holderness, commonly called PRINCE RUPERT OF THE RHINE, KG, PC, FRS ( 1619 – 1682), was a noted German soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century. Rupert was a younger son of the German prince Frederick V, Elector Palatine and his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of James I of England. Thus Rupert was the nephew of King Charles I of England, who made him Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness, and the first cousin of King Charles II of England. His sister Electress Sophia was the mother of George I of Great Britain.
Prince Rupert had a varied career. He was a soldier from a young age, fighting against Spain in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), and against the Holy Roman Emperor in Germany during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Aged 23, he was appointed commander of the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War (1642–46), becoming the archetypal Cavalier of the war and ultimately the senior Royalist general. He surrendered after the fall of Bristol and was banished from England. He served under Louis XIV of France against Spain, and then as a Royalist privateer in the Caribbean. Following the Restoration, Rupert returned to England, becoming a senior British naval commander during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars, engaging in scientific invention, art, and serving as the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert died in England in 1682, aged 62.
Rupert is considered to have been a quick-thinking and energetic cavalry general, but ultimately undermined by his youthful impatience in dealing with his peers during the Civil War. In the Interregnum, Rupert continued the conflict against Parliament by sea from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, showing considerable persistence in the face of adversity. As the head of the Royal Navy in his later years, he showed greater maturity and made impressive and long-lasting contributions to the Royal Navy's doctrine and development. As a colonial governor, Rupert shaped the political geography of modern Canada—Rupert's Land was named in his honour. Rupert's varied and numerous scientific and administrative interests combined with his considerable artistic skills made him one of the more colourful individuals of the Restoration period.
GERRIT VAN HONTHORST (1592 – 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter; born in Utrecht,
He built a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, mother of Prince Rupert, sister of Charles I of England, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter. Through her he became known to King Charles, who invited him to England in 1628.
After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court. These were large studios, where the work of his assistants included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits.
SIZE: 32.5 x 28.5 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE: Wiltshire Private Collection.
Difficult to date precisely, most of these copies were produced around the middle of the 17th century, particularly during the time of the English Civil War and the King's execution in 1649. They were much in demand to adorn the private walls of Royalist supporters.
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Holderness, commonly called PRINCE RUPERT OF THE RHINE, KG, PC, FRS ( 1619 – 1682), was a noted German soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century. Rupert was a younger son of the German prince Frederick V, Elector Palatine and his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of James I of England. Thus Rupert was the nephew of King Charles I of England, who made him Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness, and the first cousin of King Charles II of England. His sister Electress Sophia was the mother of George I of Great Britain.
Prince Rupert had a varied career. He was a soldier from a young age, fighting against Spain in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), and against the Holy Roman Emperor in Germany during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Aged 23, he was appointed commander of the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War (1642–46), becoming the archetypal Cavalier of the war and ultimately the senior Royalist general. He surrendered after the fall of Bristol and was banished from England. He served under Louis XIV of France against Spain, and then as a Royalist privateer in the Caribbean. Following the Restoration, Rupert returned to England, becoming a senior British naval commander during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars, engaging in scientific invention, art, and serving as the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert died in England in 1682, aged 62.
Rupert is considered to have been a quick-thinking and energetic cavalry general, but ultimately undermined by his youthful impatience in dealing with his peers during the Civil War. In the Interregnum, Rupert continued the conflict against Parliament by sea from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, showing considerable persistence in the face of adversity. As the head of the Royal Navy in his later years, he showed greater maturity and made impressive and long-lasting contributions to the Royal Navy's doctrine and development. As a colonial governor, Rupert shaped the political geography of modern Canada—Rupert's Land was named in his honour. Rupert's varied and numerous scientific and administrative interests combined with his considerable artistic skills made him one of the more colourful individuals of the Restoration period.
GERRIT VAN HONTHORST (1592 – 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter; born in Utrecht,
He built a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, mother of Prince Rupert, sister of Charles I of England, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter. Through her he became known to King Charles, who invited him to England in 1628.
After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court. These were large studios, where the work of his assistants included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits.
SIZE: 32.5 x 28.5 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE: Wiltshire Private Collection.
£12,950
Pencil/pen holder made from the woodwork of ...
Item Ref
This is an extremely evocative maritime item.
RMS MAURETANIA is a magical name for collectors of maritime memorabilia. Mauretania was an ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by Wigham Richardson and Swan Hunter for the Cunard Line, launched on the afternoon of 20 September 1906. She was the world's largest ship until the completion of RMS Olympic in 1911. Mauretania became a favourite among her passengers. She captured the Eastbound Blue Riband on her maiden return voyage in December 1907, then claimed the Westbound Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1909 season. She held both speed records for 20 years.
Mauretania was scrapped in 1935; she arrived at Rosyth in Scotland at about 6 am on 4 July 1935 during a half-gale, passing under Forth Bridge. By 6:30 am she passed the entrance to the Metal Industries yards under the command of Pilot Captain Whince. A lone kilted piper was present at the quayside, playing a funeral lament for the popular vessel. It was reported to author and historian John Maxtone-Graham that upon the final shut-down of her great engines, she gave a dark "final shudder...". Mauretania had her last public inspection on 8 July, a Sunday with 20,000 in attendance, with the monies raised going to local charities. Scrapping began shortly after and with great rapidity. Unusually, she was cut up afloat in drydock, with a complex system of wooden battens and pencil marks to monitor her balance. In a month her funnels were gone. By 1936 she was little more than a hulk, and she was beached at the tidal basin at Metal Industries and her remaining structure was scrapped by 1937.
The demise of the beloved Mauretania was protested by many of her loyal passengers, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wrote a private letter against the scrapping.
SIZE: 3 inches tall.
PROVENANCE: in one family since purchased in 1935.
Images of the vessel from Wikipedia.
RMS MAURETANIA is a magical name for collectors of maritime memorabilia. Mauretania was an ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by Wigham Richardson and Swan Hunter for the Cunard Line, launched on the afternoon of 20 September 1906. She was the world's largest ship until the completion of RMS Olympic in 1911. Mauretania became a favourite among her passengers. She captured the Eastbound Blue Riband on her maiden return voyage in December 1907, then claimed the Westbound Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1909 season. She held both speed records for 20 years.
Mauretania was scrapped in 1935; she arrived at Rosyth in Scotland at about 6 am on 4 July 1935 during a half-gale, passing under Forth Bridge. By 6:30 am she passed the entrance to the Metal Industries yards under the command of Pilot Captain Whince. A lone kilted piper was present at the quayside, playing a funeral lament for the popular vessel. It was reported to author and historian John Maxtone-Graham that upon the final shut-down of her great engines, she gave a dark "final shudder...". Mauretania had her last public inspection on 8 July, a Sunday with 20,000 in attendance, with the monies raised going to local charities. Scrapping began shortly after and with great rapidity. Unusually, she was cut up afloat in drydock, with a complex system of wooden battens and pencil marks to monitor her balance. In a month her funnels were gone. By 1936 she was little more than a hulk, and she was beached at the tidal basin at Metal Industries and her remaining structure was scrapped by 1937.
The demise of the beloved Mauretania was protested by many of her loyal passengers, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wrote a private letter against the scrapping.
SIZE: 3 inches tall.
PROVENANCE: in one family since purchased in 1935.
Images of the vessel from Wikipedia.
£75
Portrait of a Young Boy 1692; Follower ...
Item Ref
9118
Oil on canvas in a period frame. Inscribed "ATAT SUAE 4. ANNO DNI 1692" (At his age of 4, in the Year of our Lord 1692).
This is a portrait of great charm; the young sitter is depicted within a fashionable feigned oval, unusually, his hand is shown resting upon it....almost like a trompe l'oeil.
He wears the clothing of a member of the gentry and has the air of confidence thought befitting for one of his class. He still wears a skirt at this age, boys were not 'breeched' until the age of 6 or 7 and this was an important event, marking his progress towards adulthood.
The artist was probably provincial but aware of the extremely fashionable artist Nicholas de Largilliere (1656-1746).
SIZE: 35.5 x 29 inches.
PROVENANCE: Spanish country house, part of a family collection acquired over several generations, which has remained untouched in the hills of Andalusia for the past 50 years.
The final image shows the verso of the canvas before conservation.
This is a portrait of great charm; the young sitter is depicted within a fashionable feigned oval, unusually, his hand is shown resting upon it....almost like a trompe l'oeil.
He wears the clothing of a member of the gentry and has the air of confidence thought befitting for one of his class. He still wears a skirt at this age, boys were not 'breeched' until the age of 6 or 7 and this was an important event, marking his progress towards adulthood.
The artist was probably provincial but aware of the extremely fashionable artist Nicholas de Largilliere (1656-1746).
SIZE: 35.5 x 29 inches.
PROVENANCE: Spanish country house, part of a family collection acquired over several generations, which has remained untouched in the hills of Andalusia for the past 50 years.
The final image shows the verso of the canvas before conservation.
£4,950
Portrait of Christian de Beauvoir de Lisle ...
Item Ref
8618
Oil on canvas in original giltwood frame.
This portrait is in exceptional original condition...it is unlined, never been cleaned (it has been under glass until now) and is bright and fresh.
Signed and dated lower right.
This beautiful portrait is painted with great sensitivity to the boy's face then considerable brio to the rest of the painting; in fact, with such dash and verve that some hairs were displaced from the artist's brushes and they remain as he left them.
The sitter, aged 5, wearing the 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' suit fashionable for aristocratic children at the time, looks confidentally out at the viewer.
The time is 1916.... the middle of the Great War, and the boy's father was General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle (1864-1955), married to Leila Annette Brynt de Lisle (1877-1938). The general was a much decorated officer who had fought gallantly in Egypt and the Sudan. At this time he was General Officer Commanding 29 Division on the Western Front,
Christian de Beauvoir de Lisle (1911-1994) was a member of an old and distinguished Channel Islands family and, like his father he joined the army and saw action in another war, World War II.
At Cambridge University Christian was a member of the Oficer's Training Corps.
On 2nd September 1933 he was gazetted as a 2nd lieutenant to the 11th Hussars from the Cambridge University Contingent, Senior Division; his seniority was to date from 28th January 1932.
The 11th Hussars were, and are, a very superior cavalry regiment with a long and distinguished battle record. Christian played for the regiment's polo team and in 1933 was given a siver cigarette box inscribed by all the other rmembers of the team.
In WW II the Hussars were an armoured unit.
Christian was promoted to captain on the 11th January 1940 and went on to become a lieutanant-colonel. He was awarded medals as follows: WW II GSM with Palestine bar, 1949/45 Star, the Africa star, the DM and WM.
He died in 1994 and is buried in St. Giles Churchyard, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire.
LEON SPRINCK was a fashionable artist of Russian stock, he painted many aristocrats and members of the gentry. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries he exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. He lived at Portland Place in London.
SIZE: 31 x 27.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: by descent in the family.
Verso: the original frame maker's label for J.J. Patrickson of Chelsea, a specialist in making frames "in the Old Style".
This portrait is in exceptional original condition...it is unlined, never been cleaned (it has been under glass until now) and is bright and fresh.
Signed and dated lower right.
This beautiful portrait is painted with great sensitivity to the boy's face then considerable brio to the rest of the painting; in fact, with such dash and verve that some hairs were displaced from the artist's brushes and they remain as he left them.
The sitter, aged 5, wearing the 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' suit fashionable for aristocratic children at the time, looks confidentally out at the viewer.
The time is 1916.... the middle of the Great War, and the boy's father was General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle (1864-1955), married to Leila Annette Brynt de Lisle (1877-1938). The general was a much decorated officer who had fought gallantly in Egypt and the Sudan. At this time he was General Officer Commanding 29 Division on the Western Front,
Christian de Beauvoir de Lisle (1911-1994) was a member of an old and distinguished Channel Islands family and, like his father he joined the army and saw action in another war, World War II.
At Cambridge University Christian was a member of the Oficer's Training Corps.
On 2nd September 1933 he was gazetted as a 2nd lieutenant to the 11th Hussars from the Cambridge University Contingent, Senior Division; his seniority was to date from 28th January 1932.
The 11th Hussars were, and are, a very superior cavalry regiment with a long and distinguished battle record. Christian played for the regiment's polo team and in 1933 was given a siver cigarette box inscribed by all the other rmembers of the team.
In WW II the Hussars were an armoured unit.
Christian was promoted to captain on the 11th January 1940 and went on to become a lieutanant-colonel. He was awarded medals as follows: WW II GSM with Palestine bar, 1949/45 Star, the Africa star, the DM and WM.
He died in 1994 and is buried in St. Giles Churchyard, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire.
LEON SPRINCK was a fashionable artist of Russian stock, he painted many aristocrats and members of the gentry. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries he exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. He lived at Portland Place in London.
SIZE: 31 x 27.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: by descent in the family.
Verso: the original frame maker's label for J.J. Patrickson of Chelsea, a specialist in making frames "in the Old Style".
£1,995
Portrait of a Gentleman c.1735; Attributed to ...
Item Ref
8727
Oil on canvas in a period carved and giltwood frame.
The young man looks directly at the viewer, his wig fashionably tied in a club.
This is the age of the 'Augustan' portrait (1690-1744) when the sitter expected to be 'elevated'...an expression of gravitas behind which was culture and intelligence. This was the English way...not for them the smiling, sometimes simpering, expressions painted by the French.
Joseph Addison, famous essayist, poet, playwright and politician and a man of letters, sneeringly described French portraits as "very remarkable for their smiles and a certain smirking Air...bestowed indifferently on every Age and Degree of either sex. The Toujours Gai appeared even in Judges, Bishops and Privy Counsellors.."
WILLIAM VERELST (active 1734-c.1756) was born in England, of Netherlandish stock. His father was Harman Verelst, a portrait painter who came to England in 1683, part of the famous family of artists....Pieter(1), Harman, Pieter(2), John, Maria, Simon and William.
William was a painter of portraits and conversation pieces; he was said to be the best portraitist of the Verelst family.
SIZE:36.5 x 31 inches.
PROVENANCE: Collection of a Lady, Northumberland.
The young man looks directly at the viewer, his wig fashionably tied in a club.
This is the age of the 'Augustan' portrait (1690-1744) when the sitter expected to be 'elevated'...an expression of gravitas behind which was culture and intelligence. This was the English way...not for them the smiling, sometimes simpering, expressions painted by the French.
Joseph Addison, famous essayist, poet, playwright and politician and a man of letters, sneeringly described French portraits as "very remarkable for their smiles and a certain smirking Air...bestowed indifferently on every Age and Degree of either sex. The Toujours Gai appeared even in Judges, Bishops and Privy Counsellors.."
WILLIAM VERELST (active 1734-c.1756) was born in England, of Netherlandish stock. His father was Harman Verelst, a portrait painter who came to England in 1683, part of the famous family of artists....Pieter(1), Harman, Pieter(2), John, Maria, Simon and William.
William was a painter of portraits and conversation pieces; he was said to be the best portraitist of the Verelst family.
SIZE:36.5 x 31 inches.
PROVENANCE: Collection of a Lady, Northumberland.
£4,950
Double portrait of Colonel and Mrs. Adams ...
Item Ref
8854
Oil on canvas in reproduction 18th c. style gilt frame.
Inscribed, upper right, 'Col.n Sam & Rose Adams'.
A pleasing double portrait of Colonel Samuel Adams and his wife Rose, to whom he offers his snuff box for her to take a pinch. This is most unusual in portraiture.
(Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century.
It was generally inhaled or "snuffed" through the nose, usually directly from the fingers.
By the 18th century, snuff had become the tobacco product of choice among the upper classes, both male and female. The taking of snuff helped to distinguish the elite members of society from the common populace, which generally smoked its tobacco.)
PHILIPPE MERCIER (also known as Philip Mercier; 1689 in Berlin – 18 July 1760 in London) was a French painter and etcher, who lived principally and was active in England. He was born in Berlin of French extraction, the son of a Huguenot tapestry-worker. He studied painting at the Akademie der Wissenschaften of Berlin and later under Antoine Pesne, who had arrived in Berlin in 1710. Later, he travelled in Italy and France before arriving in London—"recommended by the Court at Hannover"—probably in 1716. He married in London in 1719 and lived in Leicester Fields.
He was appointed Principal Painter and librarian to the Prince and Princess of Wales at their independent establishment in Leicester Fields, and while he was in favour he painted various portraits of the royals, and no doubt many of the nobility and gentry. Of the royal portraits, those of the Prince of Wales and of his three sisters, painted in 1728, were all engraved in mezzotint by Jean Pierre Simon, and that of the three elder children of the Prince of Wales by John Faber Junior in 1744.
Mercier became involved in a scandal of sorts and he lost favour. He left London around 1740 and settled in York, where he practiced portrait painting for over ten years, before returning to London in 1751. In 1752, Mercier went to Portugal at the request of several English merchants. He did not long remain there, however, but came back to London, where he died in 1760.
SIZE: 45 x 51.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Edward Abadam, Middleton Hall, Carmarthenshire, thence by descent.
*Sold Christie's 1980.
*American Private Collection.
*With Roy Precious Fine Art.
* Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
Verso: old inventory number; old Christie's stencil; old handwritten label "Colonel Samuel & Mrs. Adams. P. Mercier. To Christie's York from Vaughn, 102 Westbourne Ave. Hull"
Inscribed, upper right, 'Col.n Sam & Rose Adams'.
A pleasing double portrait of Colonel Samuel Adams and his wife Rose, to whom he offers his snuff box for her to take a pinch. This is most unusual in portraiture.
(Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century.
It was generally inhaled or "snuffed" through the nose, usually directly from the fingers.
By the 18th century, snuff had become the tobacco product of choice among the upper classes, both male and female. The taking of snuff helped to distinguish the elite members of society from the common populace, which generally smoked its tobacco.)
PHILIPPE MERCIER (also known as Philip Mercier; 1689 in Berlin – 18 July 1760 in London) was a French painter and etcher, who lived principally and was active in England. He was born in Berlin of French extraction, the son of a Huguenot tapestry-worker. He studied painting at the Akademie der Wissenschaften of Berlin and later under Antoine Pesne, who had arrived in Berlin in 1710. Later, he travelled in Italy and France before arriving in London—"recommended by the Court at Hannover"—probably in 1716. He married in London in 1719 and lived in Leicester Fields.
He was appointed Principal Painter and librarian to the Prince and Princess of Wales at their independent establishment in Leicester Fields, and while he was in favour he painted various portraits of the royals, and no doubt many of the nobility and gentry. Of the royal portraits, those of the Prince of Wales and of his three sisters, painted in 1728, were all engraved in mezzotint by Jean Pierre Simon, and that of the three elder children of the Prince of Wales by John Faber Junior in 1744.
Mercier became involved in a scandal of sorts and he lost favour. He left London around 1740 and settled in York, where he practiced portrait painting for over ten years, before returning to London in 1751. In 1752, Mercier went to Portugal at the request of several English merchants. He did not long remain there, however, but came back to London, where he died in 1760.
SIZE: 45 x 51.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Edward Abadam, Middleton Hall, Carmarthenshire, thence by descent.
*Sold Christie's 1980.
*American Private Collection.
*With Roy Precious Fine Art.
* Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
Verso: old inventory number; old Christie's stencil; old handwritten label "Colonel Samuel & Mrs. Adams. P. Mercier. To Christie's York from Vaughn, 102 Westbourne Ave. Hull"
£10,985
Portrait sketch of Lady Francklin c.1675; Studio ...
Item Ref
francklin
Oil on canvas in a modern frame; the portrait has been conserved, which included lining and new stretchers.
This portrait, a preparatory 'ad vivum' oil sketch for a finished version to be done in the studio, is of great interest. This portrait formed the basis for a more complete portrait now in a private collection in America. Oil sketches were often made ‘from life’ and then taken back to the studio to be worked up. This way copies could be made with ease and the sitters wouldn’t have to sit for too long.
The portrait is interesting on several levels; it is a window into how the fashionable artists of the period coped with the tremendous demand for their work. They established what was almost a production line using several talented assistants, supervised by the Great Man himself. Many of these assistants went on to secure fame and fortune in their own right using the invaluable experience gained in the Master's studio.
It also interesting to note how this rapidly painted portrait has a real vivacity and presence occasionally lacking in some 'over-finished' finished studio products ...this sitter is 'there', on the canvas, as seen with great immediacy, by the artist. it is as if we look directly through his eyes.
The FRANCKLIN family of Bedfordshire. This is an Anglo-Saxon occupational surname meaning “the franklin”, which means “the freeholder”, deriving from the Middle English word frankelein, and earlier the Old French fraunclein. The was a feudal title during the Middle Ages, which generally referred to a person who a freeman and holder of sizeable areas of lands, a gentlemen who ranked above the minor class, but was not as high as a knight or member of the nobility.
The first Bedfordshire Francklin was William Francklin of Thurleigh in the eary/mid 15th century, the youngest son of Robert Francklin of Skipton-in Craven, Yorkshire.
The Francklins of Bedfordshire were significant land owners, and there are memorials to them in the churches of Great Barford and Bolnhurst, among others. They were at Bolnhurst from 1483 to 1944.
Possibly this lady is the one who married Sir William Francklin, knighted in 1675. Further research is required.
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles ll, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, and his Followers, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: canvas, 53 x 43 cm. Framed, 65 x 55 cm.
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, England.
This portrait, a preparatory 'ad vivum' oil sketch for a finished version to be done in the studio, is of great interest. This portrait formed the basis for a more complete portrait now in a private collection in America. Oil sketches were often made ‘from life’ and then taken back to the studio to be worked up. This way copies could be made with ease and the sitters wouldn’t have to sit for too long.
The portrait is interesting on several levels; it is a window into how the fashionable artists of the period coped with the tremendous demand for their work. They established what was almost a production line using several talented assistants, supervised by the Great Man himself. Many of these assistants went on to secure fame and fortune in their own right using the invaluable experience gained in the Master's studio.
It also interesting to note how this rapidly painted portrait has a real vivacity and presence occasionally lacking in some 'over-finished' finished studio products ...this sitter is 'there', on the canvas, as seen with great immediacy, by the artist. it is as if we look directly through his eyes.
The FRANCKLIN family of Bedfordshire. This is an Anglo-Saxon occupational surname meaning “the franklin”, which means “the freeholder”, deriving from the Middle English word frankelein, and earlier the Old French fraunclein. The was a feudal title during the Middle Ages, which generally referred to a person who a freeman and holder of sizeable areas of lands, a gentlemen who ranked above the minor class, but was not as high as a knight or member of the nobility.
The first Bedfordshire Francklin was William Francklin of Thurleigh in the eary/mid 15th century, the youngest son of Robert Francklin of Skipton-in Craven, Yorkshire.
The Francklins of Bedfordshire were significant land owners, and there are memorials to them in the churches of Great Barford and Bolnhurst, among others. They were at Bolnhurst from 1483 to 1944.
Possibly this lady is the one who married Sir William Francklin, knighted in 1675. Further research is required.
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles ll, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, and his Followers, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: canvas, 53 x 43 cm. Framed, 65 x 55 cm.
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, England.
£5,995
Portrait of Margery Angelo Swynnerton, 1917, by ...
Item Ref
9188
A fine quality portrait of an attractive young woman, the artist's daughter, painted in 1917 when she was 23; in its original frame. Signed and dated lower right.
FREDERICK SWYNNERTON (1858-1918) was a painter of some distinction. Born in Douglas on the Isle of Man, he was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and lectured on Manx prehistoric remains.
He was taught painting first in Rome, where he lived in the ménage kept by his older brother, the sculptor Joseph William Swynnerton and his wife, Annie, the painter and suffragette, who was elected to the Royal Academy. He bought the wall-paintings of the Domus Aurea whilst in Rome; they are now in the British Museum.
He went on to the Académie Julian in Paris and then set out for India, to make a career for himself as a portrait painter. He married the daughter of an Anglo-Italian fencing and soldiering family, Louise Oldfield Angelo, and lived with them in Simla. Louise died in 1941.
Swynnerton painted portraits of many of the important Europeans in India. He died suddenly in Bombay in 1918, the year after he painted this portrait, and is buried at the Sewri Christian Cemetery.
MARGERY AUGUSTUS ANGELO SWYNNERTON, was born in Delhi, Bengal on the 15th August 1894. She died in the UK in 2000. She was also an artist.
When this portrait was painted in 1917, her father had visited her in Bombay where she was recovering from pneumonia, caught in Mesopotamia, present day Iraq, whilst nursing wounded troops along with a small group of similarly strong-minded British nurses. They became the first British women to care for Indian soldiers, not on the Western Front but in the searing desert heat of Mesopotamia. Conditions were hellish, temperatures up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and conditions primitive in the extreme; more than half the nurses became ill, often with dysentery.
Seeing the far-away look in Margery's eyes, as she sat in safety, her father painting her, as she convalesced, one cannot help but wonder what she was thinking. The horrors she had seen were not long ago, and the war continued......
SIZE:38 x 31.5 x 2.25 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: by direct descent in the family.
Verso: Old storage label for Allen's Depository, Colwyn Bay, and the handwritten name 'Angelo'.
FREDERICK SWYNNERTON (1858-1918) was a painter of some distinction. Born in Douglas on the Isle of Man, he was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and lectured on Manx prehistoric remains.
He was taught painting first in Rome, where he lived in the ménage kept by his older brother, the sculptor Joseph William Swynnerton and his wife, Annie, the painter and suffragette, who was elected to the Royal Academy. He bought the wall-paintings of the Domus Aurea whilst in Rome; they are now in the British Museum.
He went on to the Académie Julian in Paris and then set out for India, to make a career for himself as a portrait painter. He married the daughter of an Anglo-Italian fencing and soldiering family, Louise Oldfield Angelo, and lived with them in Simla. Louise died in 1941.
Swynnerton painted portraits of many of the important Europeans in India. He died suddenly in Bombay in 1918, the year after he painted this portrait, and is buried at the Sewri Christian Cemetery.
MARGERY AUGUSTUS ANGELO SWYNNERTON, was born in Delhi, Bengal on the 15th August 1894. She died in the UK in 2000. She was also an artist.
When this portrait was painted in 1917, her father had visited her in Bombay where she was recovering from pneumonia, caught in Mesopotamia, present day Iraq, whilst nursing wounded troops along with a small group of similarly strong-minded British nurses. They became the first British women to care for Indian soldiers, not on the Western Front but in the searing desert heat of Mesopotamia. Conditions were hellish, temperatures up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and conditions primitive in the extreme; more than half the nurses became ill, often with dysentery.
Seeing the far-away look in Margery's eyes, as she sat in safety, her father painting her, as she convalesced, one cannot help but wonder what she was thinking. The horrors she had seen were not long ago, and the war continued......
SIZE:38 x 31.5 x 2.25 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: by direct descent in the family.
Verso: Old storage label for Allen's Depository, Colwyn Bay, and the handwritten name 'Angelo'.
£2,950
Portrait of Thomas Lee c.1720; by A.R. ...
Item Ref
8619
Oil on canvas in good period carved and giltwood frame. Signed lower right.
This pleasing portrait of a young man is painted by an artist of whom, as yet, no record has been found. Possibly a gentleman amateur artist - a friend of the family - he is aware of, and influenced by, the work of the fashionable Court portraitist Sir Godfrey Kneller.
The sitter, traditionally identified as Thomas Lee, is dressed 'a la mode' and very expensively, his silver lace and feathered hat a reflection of French fashion of the time.
SIZE: 30 x 25 inches canvas size.
37 x 32 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: by descent in the family from the sitter.
VERSO: Old label for Mealands (Knightsbridge) Ltd, picture cleaning and restoration.
This pleasing portrait of a young man is painted by an artist of whom, as yet, no record has been found. Possibly a gentleman amateur artist - a friend of the family - he is aware of, and influenced by, the work of the fashionable Court portraitist Sir Godfrey Kneller.
The sitter, traditionally identified as Thomas Lee, is dressed 'a la mode' and very expensively, his silver lace and feathered hat a reflection of French fashion of the time.
SIZE: 30 x 25 inches canvas size.
37 x 32 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: by descent in the family from the sitter.
VERSO: Old label for Mealands (Knightsbridge) Ltd, picture cleaning and restoration.
£6,950
Portrait of a Gentleman c.1695; Attributed to ...
Item Ref
9163
Oil on canvas now mounted on board in the original fine carved and giltwood 17th century frame.
This excellent portrait is typical of the height of the Baroque period; the handsome sitter relaxes in an expensive and fashionable silk 'tea gown', his costly wig flows over his shoulders as he surveys the viewer rather quizzically.
JOHN CLOSTERMAN (1660-1711) was born in Osnabruck, the son of an artist. His early training was from his father, but in 1679 he moved to Paris where for two years he studied under the portraitist Francois de Troy.
In 1681 Closterman came to England and entered into partnership with the established portrait painter John Riley.
By 1683 he had developed an independent practice; he was adept at baroque poses still with a slightly French influence, with rather flashily painted drapery
His clients were mainly from the intellectual and professional middle classes, and included some of the leading writers, artists, musicians and physicians of the day.
In the 1690's, as his reputation grew, he painted for more exalted and aristocratic patrons, like the Dukes of Somerset and Marlborough.
He lived in great splendour in his house in Covent Garden, London, with his wife Hannah.
In 1699, after a visit to Rome, he fell under the spell of the Antique and painted his famous full length portraits of the Earl of Shaftesbury in Classical pose.
Closterman's last documented portrait is 1704, and he devoted his last years to dealing in Old Master paintings.
An exhibition of his work was held by the National Portrait Gallery in 1981 under the title of 'Master of the Baroque Portrait'.
SIZE: 38.25 x 32.5 x 2.5 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: *Mrs R.D. Shafto, Bavington Hall, Capheaton, Northumberland.
*Sale, Christie's, London, 1994.
*Wood Dalling Hall, Norfolk (see image 7)
This excellent portrait is typical of the height of the Baroque period; the handsome sitter relaxes in an expensive and fashionable silk 'tea gown', his costly wig flows over his shoulders as he surveys the viewer rather quizzically.
JOHN CLOSTERMAN (1660-1711) was born in Osnabruck, the son of an artist. His early training was from his father, but in 1679 he moved to Paris where for two years he studied under the portraitist Francois de Troy.
In 1681 Closterman came to England and entered into partnership with the established portrait painter John Riley.
By 1683 he had developed an independent practice; he was adept at baroque poses still with a slightly French influence, with rather flashily painted drapery
His clients were mainly from the intellectual and professional middle classes, and included some of the leading writers, artists, musicians and physicians of the day.
In the 1690's, as his reputation grew, he painted for more exalted and aristocratic patrons, like the Dukes of Somerset and Marlborough.
He lived in great splendour in his house in Covent Garden, London, with his wife Hannah.
In 1699, after a visit to Rome, he fell under the spell of the Antique and painted his famous full length portraits of the Earl of Shaftesbury in Classical pose.
Closterman's last documented portrait is 1704, and he devoted his last years to dealing in Old Master paintings.
An exhibition of his work was held by the National Portrait Gallery in 1981 under the title of 'Master of the Baroque Portrait'.
SIZE: 38.25 x 32.5 x 2.5 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: *Mrs R.D. Shafto, Bavington Hall, Capheaton, Northumberland.
*Sale, Christie's, London, 1994.
*Wood Dalling Hall, Norfolk (see image 7)
£5,850
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