234,500 CHF
King Arthur and Emmeline. Ilbery, London, No. 7242, enamel signed V. Dupont. Pinx., circa 1820.Magnificent 18 ct. gold and enamel centre seconds watch with a special escapement, made for the Chinese market. Notes The painting is an excellent example of the level achieved by Dupont and unquestionably justifies his fame. The scene is from the third Act of the 1691 comic opera 'King Arthur and the British Worthy' by John Dryden with music by Henry Purcell. An adaptation in the 1780s at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, was billed as 'An Entertainment Consisting of Dialogue Music and Machinery called Arthur and Emmeline'. The play inspired an engraving by P.W. Tomkins, after Charles Ansell, that was published i1787, and that was the source for the enamel painting. The engraving bore an observation by Emmeline to Matilda which she, being in love with him, evidently intended the King to hear:Tis here again,Oh no, this face is neither mine nor thine,I think the glass hath borne another child.Jean-Francois-Victor Dupont (1785-1863)a highly reputed painter on enamel and porcelain. His work includes portraits of King George IV, Henry IV, H-B de Saussure, and others. He painted enamels for Ilbery, destined for the Oriental market. He is known for the beauty and elegance of his work, as well as for his distinctive palette, due to the fact that he mixed his own colours. The remarkable manner in which the figures in the foregrounds seem to advance, giving an impression of depth, is c Read more…
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2001-03-31
