Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A.

Commission in 1907 by Sir John Aird of 14 Hyde Park Gardens, London and thence to his son Malcolm Rucker Aird by 1913;
His sale, Christie's, 1 May, 1931, lot 7, to Nathan Mitchell, London by whom sold in May 1931 to Cooling Galleries, London;
Sold by Cooling Galleries, 29 June 1933 to Ernest Hare, Birmingham; 
Ira Spanierman, New York, by whom sold in 1968 to Allen Funt, New York;
Sotheby's, Belgravia, 6 November 1973, lot 33 to James Jerdein, London by whom sold in 1974, bought by The Rt. Hon. Alan and Mrs Clark

Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, Works by the late Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1913, no.178;
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973, no.33

Rudolph Dirks, `The Later Works of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A.', The Art Journal, Special Christmas Issue, 1910, p.32;
Vern G. Swanson, The Biography and Catalogue Raisonne of the Paintings of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1990, p.270, no.417, illustrated p.479;
Vern G. Swanson, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema - The Painter of the Victorian Vison of the Ancient World, 1977, illustrated colour plate 26 and on the dust-jacket;
R.J. Barrow, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 2001, illustrated p.186

The panel appears to be sound. Some spots of surface dirt on her hand otherwise the work appears in excellent original condition. Under ultraviolet light there appear to be no signs of retouching. Held in a gilt plaster frame.
"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."

A flame-haired young girl dances towards the spectator, smiling invitingly and playing a pair of bronze cymbals as she celebrates the rites of the Roman God of Wine. She is part of a Bacchanalian procession and behind her are two rose-wreathed musicians and a statue of Bacchus. The statue is based upon a photograph in one of the many albums of source material compiled by Tadema (now at the Barber Institute, University of Birmingham) depicting the marble known as the Bacchus Richelieu. Behind the statue is an inscription on the wall of a quote from Horace's Odes;

'... dulce periculum est,
O Lenaee, sequi deum
Cingentem viridi tempora pampino.

Sweet is the danger, Lenaeus,
in following the god, wreathing
my forehead with the green tendrils of the vine.'

The model for Bacchante was the professional sitter, Marion Tattershall (sometimes incorrectly identified as Tatershall) who worked for various artists and as a model in the Life School at the Royal Academy. She may have been the model for the red-haired servant girl carrying the infant Moses in The Finding of Moses and certainly appears in The Golden Hour of 1908 (private collection) and Summer Offerings of 1911 (private collection). Tadema was attracted to her as a model because she resembled his wife Laura. She became engaged to the painter John Cameron but married the photographer Nicholas Faberge, grand-son of the Russian court jeweller Carl Faberge. A small archive relating to Tattershall, including her letters to Tadema is housed at Birmingham University.

Bacchante was conceived as a pair with Orante, in which an early Christian raises her hands and gaze to Heaven, making the contrast between Christian and Pagan celebration. The pictures were commissioned by Sir John Aird, the art collector and engineer who is most famous for moving the Crystal Palace from Hyde Park to Sydenham and building the dam at Aswam in Egypt, the opening of which Tadema attended as a guest of Aird. Among the treasures in his collection was Tadema's masterpieces The Roses of Heliogabalus (private collection) and The Finding of Moses (Sotheby's, New York, 4 November 2010, lot 56) which had been inspired by Tadema's visit to Egypt. In more recent times Bacchante was in the collection of the American director and television personality Allen Funt, most famous as the creator of Candid Camera. He owned thirty-five paintings by Tadema, including The Baths of Caracalla, The Finding of Moses, Anthony and Cleopatra and In a Rose Garden.

Over the period from November 2014 until February 2015 a number of select pieces will be offered by Sotheby's London from the Clark family collection: an initial from a medieval choir book (contact Mara.Hoffmann@sothebys.com); a Robert Adam book on Diocletian's palace from the Kimbolton Castle Library (Roger.Griffiths@sothebys.com); Victorian pictures by Huskisson, Alma-Tadema, Nicol and Richmond (Simon.Toll@sothebys.com); a Meissen model of the Gellert Monument and a documentary Derby goat by Willems (Richard.Hird@sothebys.com); a 15th Century mother-of-pearl roundel (Erik.Bijzet@sothebys.com); a brass ring by Alexander Calder being offered by our New York Contemporary Department (Katherine.Trezza@sothebys.com); a Moore, Piper and Nolan within the Modern British auction (Simon.Hucker@sothebys.com); and a Cezanne, Bonnard and Miro within the February 2015 Impressionist auctions (Eva.Donnerhack@sothebys.com). There is also a silver marriage schauguldiner coin being offered by Sotheby's associates Morton & Eden (james@mortonandeden.com).