~ Pair of Miniature, 19th Century, Naive Style Paintings of HMS Monarch ~
These are two delightful depictions of HMS Monarch dating from the first half of the 19th Century.
Drawn by a sailor in a flat, naive style, both images are of the craft sitting atop the horizon with questionable scale but undeniable charm.
Having rendered the ship on scraps of crudely cut, creased writing paper with lead pencil, the artist then coloured the sea, the ship’s hull and flown flags with watercolours.
On the slightly larger piece, the ship is shown with all square sails hoisted, complete with stay sails and accurate rigging, a telltale indication that these pieces were the work of a seaman (probably an officer of sorts we believe).
On the smaller piece the ship is moored (note the anchor line), with the sails furled and all signal flags gaily fluttering.
When flags are flown in this manner along the dressing lines, it is called “dressing overall” and is a sign of celebration.
Beneath both images, the ship’s name has been carefully scribed with ink and nib; even this formality meanders from a straight line on the smaller piece, subtly loading the piece with even more character.
“84 Guns” is written beside the name on the larger piece.
Each has been custom framed without a mount, probably a good time later than they were painted, and glazed with very even and so, most likely, modern glass.
The framing job is very tasteful however and, not only does the turquoise profile reflect the colour of the sea, but the distress and roughly cobbled corners marry with the sense of history and romance.
On the smaller piece’s back panel (made of roughly cut boxwood) someone has written some brief notes regarding the dates of the ship : “Launched Chatham 1832 – 1866 broken up.”
Lastly, these are ready to hang on a visible hoop at the top of the frame, a final nod to the simplicity of the art.
~ Dimensions ~
The larger is just under 7 inches by 6 and a half (17.3 x 16 cm), while the second is very nearly 6 inches by 6 inches (14.5 x 15 cm).
On each, the frame is just under an inch thick (2 cm).
They each weigh 180g.
~ Condition ~
Aged from the first half of the 19th Century, the paper has yellowed considerably and is somewhat stained.
The artist’s materials, though being far from archival quality, have kept their colour nicely.
This is a piece for someone who will connect with the joy and character of the subject (and the amateur artist) and so the roughness are things that can be overlooked – or indeed enjoyed!
ML ACO – away 12/11/2019