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Lot Essay
The present watercolour was executed by Lear during the period when he worked for Lord Stanley at his menagerie at Knowsley. Stanley had seen Lear painting the parrots at the Zoological Gardens in London for the publication Illustrations of the Family Psittacidae, Or Parrots, 1831 (see previous lot). Although still a very young man, Lear was one of the most sought-after natural history illustrators of the day.
It was during this period also that Lear worked on the plates for T.C. Eyton, Monograph of the Duck Tribe or Anatidae, 1838. The present watercolour is not directly related to one of the plates in the publication but may have been executed in connection with the project. The present watercolour is remarkabley finished and this suggests that it was conceived as an illustration for publication.
It was during the 1830s that Lear first painted landscape watercolours in the background of his ornithological work. For the rendering of sheen on the feathers and other details of the birds, Lear had previously used egg-white. He now turned to gum arabic and on occasions used scratching out to give depth to the coat of the animals.
John Gould watched the mandarin duck in its natural habitat and observed that the tradition of the duck's life partnership appeared to be true, for they consistently moved about in pairs. In his Birds of Asia (1850-83), he wrote: 'The manners of this pretty species appear to be as gentle and loving as its dress is gay and beautiful, on which account....it is regarded by the Chinese as an emblem of conjugal fidelity'.
It was during this period also that Lear worked on the plates for T.C. Eyton, Monograph of the Duck Tribe or Anatidae, 1838. The present watercolour is not directly related to one of the plates in the publication but may have been executed in connection with the project. The present watercolour is remarkabley finished and this suggests that it was conceived as an illustration for publication.
It was during the 1830s that Lear first painted landscape watercolours in the background of his ornithological work. For the rendering of sheen on the feathers and other details of the birds, Lear had previously used egg-white. He now turned to gum arabic and on occasions used scratching out to give depth to the coat of the animals.
John Gould watched the mandarin duck in its natural habitat and observed that the tradition of the duck's life partnership appeared to be true, for they consistently moved about in pairs. In his Birds of Asia (1850-83), he wrote: 'The manners of this pretty species appear to be as gentle and loving as its dress is gay and beautiful, on which account....it is regarded by the Chinese as an emblem of conjugal fidelity'.