Old Master & British Works on Paper
Old Master & British Works on Paper
Property from a British Private Collection
English School, circa 1800
A large gathering by a country house
Lot Closed
July 6, 04:52 PM GMT
Estimate
1,500 - 2,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a British Private Collection
English School, circa 1800
A large gathering by a country house
Watercolour over pencil
351 by 560 mm
his sale, London, Christie's, 16 November 1965, lot 99 (as Michel Vincent Charles Brandoin), bt Torbock;
Cornish Torbock (1905-1993),
his executor's sale, London, Sotheby's, 14 April 1994, lot 136 (as Attributed to John Melchior Barralet),
where acquired by the parents of the present owner
Judging by the clothing worn by the figures and the artist's use of wove, not laid, paper, this large-scale watercolour would appear to date to circa 1800. It has been suggested that it might, in fact, date to 1802 and represent one of the national celebrations that took place following the Treaty of Amiens, a peace agreement signed in March of that year between England and Napoleonic France.
The identity of the house, whose architecture resembles popular fashions of the early 18th century, remains unknown. The banquet appears to be taking place in a village or town, rather than at a country house.
Former owners of this work include Derek Plint Clifford, the poet, gardener and art historian and Cornish Torbock, who had a particular love of gardening and who formed a significant collection of early British works on paper.
We are very grateful to Charles Hind for his help when cataloguing this work.