Lot 87
  • 87

Thomas Buttersworth

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Thomas Buttersworth
  • Commodore Dance discovering the French Fleet under Rear-Admiral Comte de Linois
  • signed T Buttersworth (lower left)
  • oil on canvas
  • 31 1/4 by 47 1/2 in.
  • 79.4 by 120.6 cm

Provenance

Private Collection, England
Richard Green, London
Acquired from the above, 1996

Condition

Lined. Minor chips of loss at center top edge. Under UV: Fine and spare inpainting throughout composition to address cracquelure and in a diagonal area of the water likely to address an old tear, additional brushed area of inpainting at upper left of sky.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Thomas Buttersworth served in the Royal Navy between 1795 and 1800, and his understanding of ships enabled him to paint them with verisimilitude, as seen in the present work.  Here, Buttersworth has represented the moment in February, 1804, when the French squadron, led by Rear Admiral Le Comte de Linois, is met by the East India Company's homeward bound China fleet, commanded by Commodore Nathaniel Dance. Instead of trying to escape, Dance engaged in battle. This disconcerted Linois, who thought that there were more ships than he was expecting and also that three of them were "two-decker men-of-war" thanks to a row of false ports painted at lower deck level; this shows in the painting where the leading British ship, the Royal George, is painted this way. Linois briefly stood his ground but then retreated, and thus was bluffed out of taking an unescorted East India fleet, whose worth at that time was put at £7,000,000. Upon his return to England, Dance was knighted.