Studio of Sir Peter Lely

Commissioned by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (1609-1674), for his gallery at Clarendon House, London;
by descent to his son, Henry Hyde, 2^nd Earl of Clarendon (1638-1709), at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire;
by descent, at Cornbury, and later The Grove, Hertfordshire, to his nephew, Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Rochester and later 4th Earl of Clarendon (1672-1753);
transferred to his son, Henry Hyde, 5^th Baron Hyde and Viscount Cornbury (1710-1753), in 1749, who died without issue;
by descent to his niece, Charlotte (d.1790), eldest daughter of William Capel, 3rd Earl of Essex (1697-1743), who married Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon (1709-1786), of the second creation;
thence by descent to the present owner

Plymouth City Art Gallery, Paintings in the Clarendon Collection, 1954, no. 29;
Plymouth , City Museum and Art Gallery, on long term loan until 2010

BM Add. MS 6391, ff 77 (The Grove, 1764, no. 26);
G. P. Harding, List of Portraits, Pictures in Various Mansions in the United Kingdom, unpublished MS 1804, Vol. II, p. 211;
Lady T. Lewis, Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, London 1852, Vol. III, no. 49, pp. 251, 256 and 350-152;
P. Toynbee, 'Horace Walpole's journals of visits to country seats, &c', Walpole Society, Vol. XVI, 1927, p. 38 (The Grove, Sept. 1761);
D. Piper, Catalogue of Seventeenth-Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, Cambridge 1963, pp. 310-311;
R. Gibson, Catalogue of Portraits in the Collection of the Earl of Clarendon, Wallop 1977, no. 125, p. 113

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in good condition. There is a dark and discoloured varnish overall, however there are no apparent areas of loss or damage. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light confirms the opacity of the dirty varnish and reveals retouching to an old horizontal tear in the lower right of the canvas, approximately 14 inches long. Otherwise the painting appears to be in good condition, with only a few minor flecks of scattered minor retouching. FRAME Held in a gilded wooden frame. To speak to a specialist about this lot please contact Julian Gascoigne on +44 (0)207 293 5482, or at julian.gascoigne@sothebys.com, or Ludo Shaw Stewart on +44 (0)207 293 5816, or at ludovic.shawstewart@sothebys.com.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitter was considered to be one of the outstanding scholars of the seventeenth century. He originally trained as a lawyer, being a member and eventually bencher of the Inner Temple. He was proficient in at least fourteen languages including Aramaic, Arabic and Persian, and his work on early Hebrew history and theology broke new ground. His researches into natural law and his conclusions about the origins of monarchical power brought him into conflict with Charles I, and as M.P. he became a leading critic of arbitrary royal prerogative in the late 1620s. However he was a friend of Laud and his book Mare Clausum was a peace offering, defending as it did British sovereignty at sea. On his death most of his great library was left to the Bodleian and his contribution to scholarship was commemorated by the Selden Society. Clarendon was a great admirer of Selden, remarking on 'his good nature, charity, and delight in doing good' and his portrait was a natural choice for the Clarendon Gallery.