A SET OF PORTRAIT GROUPS, ORIGINALLY FORMING PART OF A FRIEZE, MOST PROBABLY FOR A LIBRARY

Details

ENGLISH SCHOOL, MID-EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
A SET OF PORTRAIT GROUPS, ORIGINALLY FORMING PART OF A FRIEZE, MOST PROBABLY FOR A LIBRARY
Oil on canvas
Each approximately 29½ x between 59¾ and 84 in. (75 x between 151.8 and 231.4 cm.)
A set of four (4)

Provenance

H.T. Wilson, 18 Old Broad St., London, on behalf of Mrs Orme; Christie's, London, 5 December 1879, lot 92 (16 guineas to Muspratt as a set of 12).
Cornist Hall, Cornist Park, Flintshire.
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London, 13 July 1994, lot 24 (£155,000 as a set of 12).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Sitters identified from left to right:

I: John Locke (1632-1704), Thomas Gale, D.D. (circa 1635-1702), Benjamin Hoadley, Bishop in succession of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury and Winchester (1676-1761), John Wallis, D.D. (1616-1703), Thomas Cramner, Archbishop of Canterbury (1489-1556), Thomas Birch, D.D. (1705-1766), Prophet Mohamed (570-632) and Confucius (551-479 BCE)

J: Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), Sir Francis Prujean, M.D. (1593-1666), Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726), Professor Nicholas Saunderson (1682-1759), Sir Thomas Thornhill (1675-1734) and John Wilkins (1614-1672)

K: Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (1609-1674), two unidentified figures, Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) and Julius Caesar (circa 100-44 BCE)

L: Sir Joseph Williamson (1633-1701), an unidentified figure, Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury (1617-1689), Charles de Secondat, Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu (1689-1755) and two unidentified figures

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