Henry Sewell

Mourning miniatures became popular expressions of private grief during the late eighteenth century and often depicted a female mourner draped over an urn on a plinth beneath a symbolic weeping willow. Mourning pieces are more usually found in small pieces of jewellery or on the reverse side of a portrait miniature.

Painted in watercolour with chopped hair adding texture and depth to the surrounding foliage, this piece is dedicated to the memory of Henry Sewell Esq. who died on May 18th 1800 and was interred at Madras. According to the inscription ‘his worth & manners were extensively known & admired’.

Born in 1761, Henry Sewell was the son of James and Anne Sewell. As a young man he joined the Royal Navy and was appointed Naval Officer for Madras. In 1790 he married Rebecca Chase. Upon leaving the Navy, Sewell went into partnership with his brother-in-law, Thomas Chase, as a merchant dealing in cotton, salt and spices. He was a keen philanthropist supporting the local Male Asylum and the Native Poor Fund. Henry Sewell died at sea on board Daedalus in 1800 from a lingering illness leaving a widow and five young children in India.

In fine condition, the miniature is set in the original gold plated frame that is glazed reverse to show locks of blonde hair surrounding a mother of pearl plinth with the initials HS in monogram. Some of the hair and a couple of seed pearls are displaced.

Ivory Exemption Ref.: E3L39HCT