A GOLD-MOUNTED HARDSTONE TRIPLE SWIVEL SEAL, WILLIAM OR CHARLES BROWN, CIRCA 1780-1785 | A gold-mounted hardstone triple swivel seal, William or Charles Brown, circa 1780-1785

one face engraved with the profile of Hygeia, signed: Brown / invt., one with monogram: MRB, the third with the arms of Lady Robert Bertie (d. 1798), gold ribbon and husk mounts

Very good condition. One minute irregularity on the face with the initials, the face with the portrait would benefit from very light cleaning.
"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."

The brothers William (1748-1825) and Charles (1749-1795) Brown were both London gem engravers who exhibited at the Society of Artists and the Royal Academy from 1766. For about ten years, from around 1785, they worked almost exclusively for Catherine II of Russia, and many of their gems are to be found in the Imperial Collections at the Hermitage, including an almost identical rendering of this head of Hygeia, signed by William Brown, which entered the Imperial gem cabinet in 1787 (Julia Kagan, Gem engraving in Britain, London, 2010, ill., no. 170; R.E. Raspe, A Descriptive Catalogue of a General Collection of Ancient and Modern Engraved Gems, Cameos as well as Intaglios … cast by James Tassie, London, 1791, no. 4116). William had exhibited two 'heads of Hygeia' at the Royal Academy in 1778 and 1785. Mary, youngest daughter and co-heiress of Montague, 1^st Viscount Blundell, and his wife Mary Chetwynd, was born on 21 February 1719 and christened at St James, Piccadilly, a few weeks later. She married Robert, 2^nd Baron Raymond, in 1741, and following his death in 1756, married secondly in 1762, Lord Robert Bertie, fifth son of the 1^st Duke of Ancaster, whom she survived. She died 13 April 1798, 'in her 80th year' according to the memorial plaque in St Nicholas, Chislehurst. Following her second marriage she was always known as Lady Robert Bertie, perhaps to avoid confusion with Lady Mary Bertie, only daughter of the Duke of Ancaster. She has also been confused by genealogists with her eldest sister Chetwynd, who married William Trumbull in 1733.