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19th century cut-paper picture

Item Ref. 3909

ENGLISH SCHOOL, early to mid 19th century

This is a charming cut-paper picture (also known as a Scherenschnitte) depicting a dog chasing a stray sheep down a hillside. The art of paper-cutting was a popular pastime for young ladies during the 18th and early 19th century. They typically used a pair of tiny razor-edged scissors and quill-shaped knives with a hone and oil to sharpen them, as well as good quality paper.

The picture is housed in a handsome bird's eye maple veneer frame with a gilt slip.

Framed size: 57/8 x 71/8" (149 x 180mm)

S O L D !


 

Item Ref. 3715

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1810-20

This is a full-colour profile portrait of a gentleman named on the reverse as the Rev. John Butt. He has a well-receding hairline but makes up for it with bushy eyebrows and side-whiskers. He is wearing a black coat with a deep collar and a white knotted stock.

The portrait is watercolour on card. It is set in the original papier-mâché frame with an emblems (rose, thistle, shamrock) hanger.

Framed size: 5 x 43/8" (128 x 110mm)

Price: £150

19th century profile portrait of a reverend gentleman

19th century profile portrait of a reverend gentleman


William Hamlet, silhouette of a child

Item Ref. 3801

WILLIAM HAMLET THE ELDER, active 1785-1816

Silhouettes are sometimes also called shades or shadows and this painted silhouette illustrates the reason for this. The profile has been painted on the reverse side of convex glass and so it throws a shadow onto the white plaster behind. The profile is of a young girl with her hair upswept and is beautiful for its sheer simplicity.

The silhouette is housed in a traditional papier-mâché frame with an emblems (rose, thistle & shamrock) hanger. There is slight paint loss to the profile but this is mostly not visible to the naked eye.

Framed size: 5 x 4¼" (134 x 108mm)

Price: £180

William Hamlet the Elder is believed to have been a French émigré who eventually settled to work in Bath. He included royalty amongst his clientele and his trade labels were headed by the Royal coat-of-arms and by the proud boast 'Profile Painter to Her Majesty' (i.e. Queen Charlotte). Hamlet's son was also a silhouette artist though he pre-deceased his father.


 

Item Ref. 3621

EDWARD FOSTER, 1762-1865

This is a silhouette portrait of an unknown lady wearing a day dress with a columnar neck culminating in a single ruff under her chin. She also has a fashionable turban which conceals all but a few curls of her hair.

This is one of Foster's early 'black profiles' where the costume details have been carefully outlined using gum arabic. It dates to around 1814 and is set in a papier-mâché frame with a decorative surround and a bunch of grapes hanger.

Provenance: Ex. Sue McKechnie collection
Literature: British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860, page 147, illus. 198
Framed size: 55/8 x 43/4" (144 x 121mm)

Price: £250

The son of a gentleman land-steward, Edward Foster joined the Derbyshire militia at an early age. Over the next 25 years he saw active service during the War of American Independence and then in Holland and Egypt. A few years after retiring from the army, Foster forged a new career in painting with early success that included Royal patronage which earned him his own apartment at Windsor Castle. By the 1820s he had returned home to Derby where he continued to run a successful portrait studio only retiring officially upon his 100th birthday. He was 102 years old when he died having been married five times with 17 children, only the youngest of whom outlived him.

Edward Foster, painted silhouette of a lady

Edward Foster, painted silhouette of a lady

 


Item Ref. 2996

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1830

A lovely bust-length silhouette portrait of a young girl in a wide-shouldered dress with wide sleeves decorated with a shoulder bow. Her hair is arranged in ringlets and she wears a beaded necklace and a fashionable narrow gold band or ferronière low over her forehead.

The profile is cut-out and finely gilded. It is housed in a traditional papier-mâché with an acorn hanger. Excellent condition.

Framed size: 5½ x 4½" (140 x 115mm)

Price: £160

Cut and gilded silhouette portrait of a girl

Cut and gilded silhouette portrait of a girl


 

Item Ref. 2394

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1830

This attractive silhouette portrait is painted with a touch of colour and portrays a young lady wearing a dress with full, possibly 'leg of mutton' sleeves and a coral beaded necklace. Her hair is swept up into an Apollo knot and secured with a large comb.

The silhouette is painted in dark grey watercolour with gold paint used to accentuate the hair. It is set in a handsome period bird's eye maple frame.

Framed size: 77/8 x 7½" (185 x 140mm)

Price: £165

Painted silhouette portrait of a lady

Painted silhouette portrait of a lady


W & H Walter silhouette portrait of a lady

W & H Walter silhouette portrait of a ladyW & H Walter silhouette artist's trade label

Item Ref. 3163

H. & J. WALTER, circa 1850

This is a half-length silhouette of a lady wearing a dress with a pleated bodice and a pointed waist-line together with a white bonnet trimmed with lace rosettes.

The profile is cut from dove-grey paper, the detail is highlighted with gold & Chinese white. The artist’s trade stencil is on the reverse and it is housed in a fine rosewood frame with a gilt slip.

Framed size: 7 x 5¾" (176 x 145mm)
Provenance: Sue McKechnie collection
Literature: Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860 - page 346,
plate 617

Price: £195

H. & J. Walter were active between about 1848 and 1853 and are known from just a handful of examples of their work.

 

Item Ref. 3353

PROSOPOGRAPHUS, the AUTOMATON ARTIST, 1829

This is a finely painted silhouette portrait of an elegant lady, named on the reverse as Mrs Thring. Her hair is drawn up into a knot and secured with a large comb with soft curls around her forehead. The profile is inscribed on the obverse: ‘done by an Automaton 1829’.

Housed in a giltwood frame with attractive hand-stencilled decoration.

Framed size: 6½ x 5" (164 x 128mm)

Price: £180

Given the date and the fact that the bust-line closely matches that on a labelled Prosopographus profile in the Willcocks collection, it seems certain that the Automaton was indeed that mechanical device invented by Charles Hervé II for drawing the outline of silhouettes. He named his device ‘Prosopographus, the Automaton Artist’ and exhibited it around England as a great curiosity. A contemporary handbill claimed that it could ‘produce more perfect resemblances than any living artist [could] possibly execute’.

Painted silhouette by Prosopographus the Automaton Artist

Painted silhouette by Prosopographus the Automaton Artist


Painted silhouette portrait by William Alport

Painted silhouette portrait by William Alport

Item Ref. 2908

WILLIAM ALPORT, circa 1810

A bust-length silhouette portrait of an elegant Regency lady with upswept hair arranged in a knot with a decorative comb.

The profile is painted with fine brushwork to indicate the outline of the hair. The plunging base-line has Alport's characteristically neat finish. It is housed in a traditional papier-mâché frame with a star hanger.
Excellent condition.

Framed size: 5¼ x 4½" (133 x 114mm)

S O L D !

William Alport worked as a profilist from a booth inside William Bullock's private Museum of National History and Antiquities in Liverpool, with the aid of Bullock's physiognotrace, an invention that was first advertised in 1806. Bullock moved his museum to London in 1810 but Alport remained in Liverpool working under his own name until at least 1829. He died in 1831.

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Cynthia McKinley
Wigs on the Green Fine Art, York
Tel. +44 (0)1904 794711             Mobile: 07962 257915
Email: enquiries@wigsonthegreen.co.uk