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Lot Essay
The top depicts a naturalistic rendering of a sycamore leaf on paper which is identified on a plaque to the reverse as the work of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, in 1787. It is representative of the botanical studies in pencil and pen-and-ink avidly pursued by the Queen and her daughters. Thomas Gainsborough (d. 1788) instructed the Queen in drawing as recorded by one source in 1828 who stated that 'her majesty took some lessons of Gainsborough, during the then fashionable rage for that artist's eccentric style denominated Gainsborough's moppings' (see J. Roberts, ed., George III and Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004, p. 81).
In 1790, the Queen bought Frogmore House, a small house in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which was a treasured private retreat from court activities, here the Queen kept her botanical collections and the Queen and Princesses pursued their drawing. Mary Moser (d. 1819), their drawing mistress, was the leading professional flower painter of her day and one of two female members of the Royal Academy. She also decorated the South Pavilion at Frogmore as a floral bower. Various botanicals executed by Charlotte, the Princess Royal and Elizabeth, the most prolific artist and probably the most talented among the daughters, reveal the influence of their tutor. While Queen Charlotte drew all of her life, little of her work survives which includes the '7 Drawings by her Majesty Queen Charlotte', all figural, in the Royal Collection (J. Roberts, op. cit., p. 72).
It is plausible that the Queen's drawing, executed in 1787, was passed on at the time of her death in 1819 at which time the base was executed for display. In support of this is the ivory plaque to the underside of the top which appears to be of the period. When Queen Charlotte died, her will stipulated that her personal effects be divided among the four youngest daughters. A folder containing works by the Queen is noted in the posthumous inventory of Princess Elizabeth's collection at Darmstadt (ibid, p. 72). After the Princesses chose what they wanted to retain, the remainder was sold at public auction in accordance with the will. The 35 sales at Christie's took place from 4 January to 27 August 1819.
In 1790, the Queen bought Frogmore House, a small house in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which was a treasured private retreat from court activities, here the Queen kept her botanical collections and the Queen and Princesses pursued their drawing. Mary Moser (d. 1819), their drawing mistress, was the leading professional flower painter of her day and one of two female members of the Royal Academy. She also decorated the South Pavilion at Frogmore as a floral bower. Various botanicals executed by Charlotte, the Princess Royal and Elizabeth, the most prolific artist and probably the most talented among the daughters, reveal the influence of their tutor. While Queen Charlotte drew all of her life, little of her work survives which includes the '7 Drawings by her Majesty Queen Charlotte', all figural, in the Royal Collection (J. Roberts, op. cit., p. 72).
It is plausible that the Queen's drawing, executed in 1787, was passed on at the time of her death in 1819 at which time the base was executed for display. In support of this is the ivory plaque to the underside of the top which appears to be of the period. When Queen Charlotte died, her will stipulated that her personal effects be divided among the four youngest daughters. A folder containing works by the Queen is noted in the posthumous inventory of Princess Elizabeth's collection at Darmstadt (ibid, p. 72). After the Princesses chose what they wanted to retain, the remainder was sold at public auction in accordance with the will. The 35 sales at Christie's took place from 4 January to 27 August 1819.