Admiral Lord Exmouth (Edward Pellew), Steel Engraved Portrait, circa 1850
€ 145
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1850
Mapmaker / artist
Unsigned steel engraving
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
23 × 14 cm (9.1 × 5.5 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-3
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition for its age. A few spots to the upper margin; a small stain and pencil numbering in the lower margin; a fold along the right edge. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original nineteenth century engraved portrait of the British admiral Edward Pellew, first Viscount Exmouth, lettered simply "Exmouth" in an engraved oval cartouche below the image.
The admiral is shown at half length, turned slightly to the left, with white hair brushed forward and a heavy, weathered face. He wears full dress naval uniform with gold epaulets, the broad sash of the Order of the Bath across his chest and the stars of his orders on the breast, with a cross hanging at the neck. The portrait is set within a ruled frame with small rosettes in the four corners, and the name below is lettered in white capitals on a shaded oval with flourishes, a style typical of the encyclopedic portrait series of the middle of the nineteenth century. Above the frame at left a small reference is lettered "M.r CL. N.o 450".
Edward Pellew (1757 to 1833) was one of the most celebrated frigate captains of the wars with Revolutionary France, famous for the capture of the French frigate Cleopatre in 1793 and for his rescue of the passengers and crew of the wrecked East Indiaman Dutton at Plymouth in 1796. As an admiral he commanded in the East Indies and the Mediterranean, and in 1816 he led the Anglo Dutch bombardment of Algiers that forced the release of more than a thousand Christian captives, for which he was raised to Viscount Exmouth.
The engraving is fine and even, with the face built up in delicate stipple and line and the uniform rendered with crisp, dark cuts that give the print a strong tonal range. The sheet has generous margins, and its scale suits a single frame or a group of naval and military portraits.
A narrow molding with a wide mat would set off the ornamental frame and the lettered cartouche, and the portrait would sit well in a study, a library or alongside marine prints of the Napoleonic period.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
