Lot 169
  • 169

JEAN BAPTISTE JACQUES AUGUSTIN | Portrait of Thomas Weld, later Cardinal Weld (1773-1837) and his daughter Mary Lucy, later Lady Clifford of Chudleigh (1799-1831)

Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Jean Baptiste Jacques Augustin
  • Portrait of Thomas Weld, later Cardinal Weld (1773-1837) and his daughter Mary Lucy, later Lady Clifford of Chudleigh (1799-1831)
  • Watercolour and bodycolour on ivory, gilt-metal frame;signed centre right: Augustin / a Paris / 1819.; together with a double portrait of Lucy Bridget Weld, née Clifford (d. 1815) and her daughter Mary Lucy
  • The first 176 by 123 mm.; the second 165 by 110 mm.

Provenance

The sitters' family by descent until;
Hugh, 13th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1916-1988);
his sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 1985, lot 119 (Augustin);
London, Sotheby's, 4 December 1985, lot 257 (English School)

Literature

Friesen (ed.), 2001, p. 397, pl. 30;
Du Pasquier, 2010, p. 117;
Pappe, 2015, p. 340, no. 986, p. 128, illust.

Condition

There is a horizontal artist's join at the base, starting 5.5 cm at left, and ending 5.1cm at right. 4 cm. There is a hairline crack (2.7cm) running from the artist's join into the blue shawl. There is nascent crack running down the right margin, 4 mm from the edge. There are glue-stains around the margin, on the left, on the woodwork of the desk, a series of small patches along the upper margin and another cluster, two-thirds down on the right near the shawl. All this sounds alarming however in essense this remarkable minature is in good order.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Thomas Weld, a Roman Catholic of great piety and charitableness, married Lucy Bridget second daughter of Thomas Clifford of Chudleigh in 1796. She died in 1815. On the marriage of his daughter Thomas renounced worldly wealth and was ordained a Priest and thereafter lived aboard. He was appointed Bishop of Amycla in 1826 and Cardinal in 1830.

His daughter Mary, married her cousin Hugh Charles Clifford, later 7th Lord Clifford, in 1818.  It is presumed that the young couple travelled to Paris in 1819 to visit Mary’s father, who was then living in France, and he commissioned Augustin to paint this miniature. Mary died in 1831 and was buried in the Church of St. Marchello from which her father took his title as Cardinal. This exceptional miniature is sold accompanied by the portrait of Mary and her mother, that Thomas Weld is holding in his hand.