Emma, Lady Hamilton | A lock of her hair said to be hers, 1790-91

Property from the Jean Hart Kislak Collection

[Emma, Lady Hamilton]

A lock of reddish-brown hair, said to be Emma Hamilton's

in a small modern oval gilt frame, 95 x 75mm, not examined out of frame

According to a letter by the historian Tom Pocock (now lost), this was one of a group of locks of hair presented by Emma Hamilton to Sir William Hamilton in Naples in 1790-91. It is one of three such locks that passed through the Morrison collection and were eventually obtained by Pocock. This example, the only one of the three to have been framed, was given by him to the naval historian Oliver Warner in 1961.

PROVENANCE

Alfred Morrison; sale of his collection, Sotheby's, London, 7 May 1919 lot 3133 (part lot), which contained letters dating the hair to 1790/1791, to Mr. Harvey of 4, St. James Street, London; Tom Pocock, historian (d.2007); presented to Oliver Warner (1903-1976), 25 June 1961; purchased from his library to R.C. Fiske, 1978