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Lot Essay
The Duke of Rutland's Belvoir pack was famous for its pedigree and colouring. Bradley, a sporting journalist and avid huntsman, wrote of the present dog, Belvoir Weaver:
'He was a long, low hound, just the outline we look to find in a weight-carrying hunter of quality. Captain Pennell Elmhirst said, "Head, neck and shoulders are material for a painter, while back and quarters are built for work and stamina. In my humble opinion, Weaver is one of the six model foxhounds of my experience"... Weaver's exquisite quality was such that we did not realise that he was the deepest-ribbed dog ever seen on the flags at Belvoir, taping 34½ inches... He was a beautifully balanced dog on the best of hocks... His colour was glorious - the richest of Belvoir tan, blue-black and dazzling white, and his white collar marking exactly right to show the line of the shoulder. Weaver had a beautifully intelligent head, with that wise, wistful expression so characteristic of the Belvoir blood; and Ben Capell said of him, "He is the best workman and kindest dog-hound ever hunted".' (Cuthbert Bradley, Good Sport seen with Some Famous Packs, 1885-1910, c.1912, pp. 266-267.)
Bradley also painted a portrait of Weaver's sire, Dexter (see William Secord, Dog Painting: The European Breeds, 2000, p. 93, plate 106).
'He was a long, low hound, just the outline we look to find in a weight-carrying hunter of quality. Captain Pennell Elmhirst said, "Head, neck and shoulders are material for a painter, while back and quarters are built for work and stamina. In my humble opinion, Weaver is one of the six model foxhounds of my experience"... Weaver's exquisite quality was such that we did not realise that he was the deepest-ribbed dog ever seen on the flags at Belvoir, taping 34½ inches... He was a beautifully balanced dog on the best of hocks... His colour was glorious - the richest of Belvoir tan, blue-black and dazzling white, and his white collar marking exactly right to show the line of the shoulder. Weaver had a beautifully intelligent head, with that wise, wistful expression so characteristic of the Belvoir blood; and Ben Capell said of him, "He is the best workman and kindest dog-hound ever hunted".' (Cuthbert Bradley, Good Sport seen with Some Famous Packs, 1885-1910, c.1912, pp. 266-267.)
Bradley also painted a portrait of Weaver's sire, Dexter (see William Secord, Dog Painting: The European Breeds, 2000, p. 93, plate 106).