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Lot Essay
This gold and enamel portrait box provides a fascinating insight into the ladies of the 'blue stocking circle' of the 18th century, bound together by their friendships and common interests in the arts and literature.
The central figure represented on the cover of the box is that of Mrs Mary Delany (1700-1788), daughter of Colonel Bertrand Granville, younger brother of George Granville, Lord Landsdowne and the daughter of Sir Martin Westcombe. After the death of her first husband, Alexander Perdarves, Mary travelled to Ireland for eighteen months where she met Mrs Grierson and many other leading literary ladies of the day and the man she was to marry in 1742, Dean Patrick Delany, a friend of Jonathan Swift. On her return to London, Mary immersed herself in London society life. The Granvilles were connected with many aristocratic families and among her great friends was Margaret Cavendish Harley, Duchess of Portland. In a letter to Elizabeth Montagu in April 1740, Mrs Donellan, a close friend of Mary's writes 'I saw the Duke and Duchess of Portland yesterday at Zincke's where she and Mrs Pendarves are sitting for their pictures [...]' (E. K. Cliemson [ed.], Elizabeth Montagu, Queen of the Blue Stockings. Her Correspondence 1720-1761, London, 1906, p. 45). An engraving after another portrait of Mrs Delany by Zincke was reproduced as the frontispiece to this work. In 1743, Mary returned to Ireland and her numerous letters to her friends and family show her to be a loyal friend and sociable person. She was a talented craftswoman with interests in many fields but it is for her embroideries and flower paper collages that she is probably best remembered.
After the death of Dean Delany, Mary took a house in Thatched House Court and spent much of her time with the Duke and Duchess of Portland. King George III and Queen Charlotte met Mrs Delany during one of their visits to the Duchess and she was soon to be a trusted friend and advisor. The King called her his 'dearest Mrs Delany' and on the death of the Duchess, he gave her a grace and favour house near the Queen's Lodge at Windsor and an annual pension.
Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley (1715-1785), only daughter and heiress of 2nd Earl of Oxford, married William, 2nd Duke of Portland (1708-1762). She was celebrated by Prior as 'My noble, lovely, little Peggy' and was a passionate collector of paintings, prints, drawings, jewels, coins, medals, snuff-boxes and specimens of natural history. Her most famous acquisition was the Barberini, or Portland, Vase and as an accomplished botanist was the first to record as an English species the fungus Hydnum auriscalpium. Zincke first painted Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford in 1716 (R. Goulding, The Catalogue of Miniatures at Welbeck Abbey, Oxford, 1916, no. 194) and continued to have a close association with the family. He painted numerous portraits of the Duchess (Goulding, op.cit., no. 201, 203, 205, 214, 215). Zincke's portrait of the Duchess dated 1738 (op. cit., no. 205) was engraved by Vertue in 1739 and by Joseph Brown in 1861 for the Rt. Hon. Lady Llanover's Autobiography and correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs Delany, London, 1861, and reproduced in A. Day (ed.), Letters from Georgian Ireland, the correspondence of Mary Delany 1731-68, 1991, p. 288. Another portrait, signed by Zincke and dated 1735 is in the National Gallery of Ireland, no. 3744 (P. Caffrey, Treasures to Hold, Irish and English Miniatures 1650-1850 from the National Gallery of Ireland Collection, Dublin, 2000, p. 47, illustrated cat. 12).
Mrs Elizabeth Montagu (1720-1800), eldest daughter of Matthew Robinson and Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Drake, developed a precious interest in literature at an early age and at the age of twelve wrote a series of letters to Lady Margaret Cavendish, later Duchess of Portland. In 1742, she married Edward Montagu, second son by the second wife of Charles Montagu, fifth son of the first Earl of Sandwich. After the death of their only child, the Montagus moved to London, and their house in Hill Street, Mayfair was to become the central point of meeting for the intellectual and fashionable people of the day. 'I never invite idiots to my house' she wrote to Garrick in 1770 (Alfred Morrison's manuscripts, Hist. MSS. Comm., 9th Rep., II, p. 480a). It was to her assemblies that the epithet 'blue stocking' was applied and two explanations of this term prevail. Full dress was not insisted on at Mrs Montagu's gatherings and Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-1771), the naturalist, wore blue worsted stockings instead of the conventional black silk stockings. Admiral Boscawen is said to have applied the epithet to all ladies' conversations. However, Lady Crewe stated that the ladies wore blue stockings as a distinction in imitation of Madame de Polignac (1749-1793). Mrs Montagu's regular visitors included Lord Lyttleton, Horace Walpole, Dr Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Hannah More and Fanny Burney. In a letter to her mother in April 1740, Mrs Montagu writes 'I sat for my picture to Zincke; I believe it will be very like me. I am in Anne Boleyn's dress' (Cliemson, op. cit., p. 47). A version of this enamel was engraved by R. Cooper for Sir Nathaniel Wraxhall's Memoirs, 1801.
It is difficult to identify the fourth sitter shown in profile with any degree of certainty but it is tempting to suggest that she too was a member of this circle and known to Mrs Delany, the Duchess of Portland and Mrs Montagu.
The central figure represented on the cover of the box is that of Mrs Mary Delany (1700-1788), daughter of Colonel Bertrand Granville, younger brother of George Granville, Lord Landsdowne and the daughter of Sir Martin Westcombe. After the death of her first husband, Alexander Perdarves, Mary travelled to Ireland for eighteen months where she met Mrs Grierson and many other leading literary ladies of the day and the man she was to marry in 1742, Dean Patrick Delany, a friend of Jonathan Swift. On her return to London, Mary immersed herself in London society life. The Granvilles were connected with many aristocratic families and among her great friends was Margaret Cavendish Harley, Duchess of Portland. In a letter to Elizabeth Montagu in April 1740, Mrs Donellan, a close friend of Mary's writes 'I saw the Duke and Duchess of Portland yesterday at Zincke's where she and Mrs Pendarves are sitting for their pictures [...]' (E. K. Cliemson [ed.], Elizabeth Montagu, Queen of the Blue Stockings. Her Correspondence 1720-1761, London, 1906, p. 45). An engraving after another portrait of Mrs Delany by Zincke was reproduced as the frontispiece to this work. In 1743, Mary returned to Ireland and her numerous letters to her friends and family show her to be a loyal friend and sociable person. She was a talented craftswoman with interests in many fields but it is for her embroideries and flower paper collages that she is probably best remembered.
After the death of Dean Delany, Mary took a house in Thatched House Court and spent much of her time with the Duke and Duchess of Portland. King George III and Queen Charlotte met Mrs Delany during one of their visits to the Duchess and she was soon to be a trusted friend and advisor. The King called her his 'dearest Mrs Delany' and on the death of the Duchess, he gave her a grace and favour house near the Queen's Lodge at Windsor and an annual pension.
Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley (1715-1785), only daughter and heiress of 2nd Earl of Oxford, married William, 2nd Duke of Portland (1708-1762). She was celebrated by Prior as 'My noble, lovely, little Peggy' and was a passionate collector of paintings, prints, drawings, jewels, coins, medals, snuff-boxes and specimens of natural history. Her most famous acquisition was the Barberini, or Portland, Vase and as an accomplished botanist was the first to record as an English species the fungus Hydnum auriscalpium. Zincke first painted Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford in 1716 (R. Goulding, The Catalogue of Miniatures at Welbeck Abbey, Oxford, 1916, no. 194) and continued to have a close association with the family. He painted numerous portraits of the Duchess (Goulding, op.cit., no. 201, 203, 205, 214, 215). Zincke's portrait of the Duchess dated 1738 (op. cit., no. 205) was engraved by Vertue in 1739 and by Joseph Brown in 1861 for the Rt. Hon. Lady Llanover's Autobiography and correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs Delany, London, 1861, and reproduced in A. Day (ed.), Letters from Georgian Ireland, the correspondence of Mary Delany 1731-68, 1991, p. 288. Another portrait, signed by Zincke and dated 1735 is in the National Gallery of Ireland, no. 3744 (P. Caffrey, Treasures to Hold, Irish and English Miniatures 1650-1850 from the National Gallery of Ireland Collection, Dublin, 2000, p. 47, illustrated cat. 12).
Mrs Elizabeth Montagu (1720-1800), eldest daughter of Matthew Robinson and Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Drake, developed a precious interest in literature at an early age and at the age of twelve wrote a series of letters to Lady Margaret Cavendish, later Duchess of Portland. In 1742, she married Edward Montagu, second son by the second wife of Charles Montagu, fifth son of the first Earl of Sandwich. After the death of their only child, the Montagus moved to London, and their house in Hill Street, Mayfair was to become the central point of meeting for the intellectual and fashionable people of the day. 'I never invite idiots to my house' she wrote to Garrick in 1770 (Alfred Morrison's manuscripts, Hist. MSS. Comm., 9th Rep., II, p. 480a). It was to her assemblies that the epithet 'blue stocking' was applied and two explanations of this term prevail. Full dress was not insisted on at Mrs Montagu's gatherings and Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-1771), the naturalist, wore blue worsted stockings instead of the conventional black silk stockings. Admiral Boscawen is said to have applied the epithet to all ladies' conversations. However, Lady Crewe stated that the ladies wore blue stockings as a distinction in imitation of Madame de Polignac (1749-1793). Mrs Montagu's regular visitors included Lord Lyttleton, Horace Walpole, Dr Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Hannah More and Fanny Burney. In a letter to her mother in April 1740, Mrs Montagu writes 'I sat for my picture to Zincke; I believe it will be very like me. I am in Anne Boleyn's dress' (Cliemson, op. cit., p. 47). A version of this enamel was engraved by R. Cooper for Sir Nathaniel Wraxhall's Memoirs, 1801.
It is difficult to identify the fourth sitter shown in profile with any degree of certainty but it is tempting to suggest that she too was a member of this circle and known to Mrs Delany, the Duchess of Portland and Mrs Montagu.