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neil guthrie

@nguthrie.bsky.social

Collector. Antiquary. The Material Culture of the Jacobites (2014). Guthrie’s Guide to Better Legal Writing (2017, 2021). Trustee, George R Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto

1807 Posts2331 Follower 352 Folgt

Dr ShinyGoth @ghostingdani.bsky.social · 4h ago

"uncastrated edition" is how I'm going to refer to it going forward.

Dr Sam Bailey@18thcenturysam.bsky.social · 5h ago

Rotating the idea of 'Cleveland's Fanny Hill' in my mind.

The Georgian Lords @georgianlords.bsky.social · 15h ago

Two such different politicians, both hugely influential at Court (and in government) sharing a death day: John Hervey, Lord Hervey (d. 1743) and Frederick North, Lord North, by then 2nd earl of Guilford (d. 1792). Hervey didn't live to inherit the earldom of Bristol; North got his for just 2 years.

portrait of a man wearing 18th-century clothing, a shoulder length grey wig and a brown coat with silver lining

portrait of a middle-aged man wearing a short grey wig and an elaborate embroidered gown with a chain of office, one hand is resting on a book

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 13h ago

Watercolour of the eruption of Vesuvius by Pater Fabris for Sir William Hamilton’s Campi phlegræi: Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Sicilies (1776) from the collection of @antiquaries.bsky.social #c18 #c18th #18thc

Over the course of three Society meetings from January 26th, 1775, the diplomat, archaeologist, volcanologist and antiquarian Sir William Hamilton FSA communicated an account of the recent discoveries at Pompeii. His papers were illustrated with a series of gouache paintings by Pietro Fabris, a painter of English and Italian descent. Fabris had accompanied Hamilton on his travels to volcanic sites at Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Lipari. Engravings of these drawings were made by the Society’s engraver, James Basire, and published in ‘Archaeologia’ along with Hamilton’s text. They appear drab and grim in comparison with the vibrant plates shown here, bathed in bright Italian light.

Hamilton’s work on the volcanoes was published in Naples in 1776: Campi phlegræi. Observations on the volcanoes of the Two Sicilies as they have been communicated to the Royal Society by Sir William Hamilton …. This magnificent folio included 54 dramatic scenes of eruptions, sweeping landscapes, and plates of volcanic rock specimens. Fabris’ attempts at illustrating geological specimens are inexpert, but many of the landscapes have a compositional flair reminiscent of the art of Claude Lorraine and Salavator Rosa, underscored by the new aesthetic of the Sublime in the spectacle of observed volcanic eruptions.

There were several subsequent editions of Campi phlegræi, but the very scarce first edition has always been the most admired and highly-prised. The supplementary volume, illustrating an eruption of Vesuvius in 1779, is so rare that only four other libraries in the world are known to possess a copy.

The Society’s set of Campi phlegræi was donated by Hamilton (who had been elected a Fellow of the Society in 1772); the supplementary volume was added in 1782. The books remain in their original 18th-century paper boards and leather backings, and together constitute one of the most sumptuous publications in the Society’s printed collection.

Richard White @rhwhite.bsky.social · yesterday

A small porcelain dish that somewhat matches the cup I posted yesterday. Purchased last month; Chantilly factory, circa 1740, with a twig branch 'handle'. Several labels underneath, will have to add my own.

4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm) in diameter.
Provenance:
Christie's, London, 29 October 1973, lot 125.
The Lady Cynthia Postan Collection.
Bonhams, London, Sale 32554, A Life in Ceramics: The Peter and Mary White Collection, Part II, 1 July 2026, lot 64.
Literature:
Errol Manners, The Lady Cynthia Postan Collection of French and Other 18th Century Porcelain, 21-29 May 2015, number 12.

The hunting horn mark from the factory surrounded by much-later labels.

Dr Ian McCormick @wokestudies.bsky.social · 2d ago

Joseph Spence (1699–1768) ... later famous for his "Observations, Anecdotes, and Characters, of Books and Men "

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 2d ago

Pattern silver shilling of George, Prince of Wales and High Steward of Scotland (later Prince Regent, ultimately George IV). Dies dated 1799 but a later restrike by Matthew Young, c1820-38. With CNG auctions (est. US$500) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Obverse, George looking left, bareheaded with natural hair, in cuirass and mantle. Legend: GEORGIVS P . S . S . C . D 1799 ('George Prince High Steward of Scotland Duke of Cornwall'). Reverse, crowned cruciform escutcheons of his father's realms (Great Britain, France, Ireland, Hanover) around radiate Garter badge; crowned Prince of Wales's feathers in alternate angles. Legend: BR . L . PR . E . REG . SC . PR ET . SEN . COR . DVX ('Electoral Prince of Brunswick & Luneburg, Prince and High Steward of the Kingdom of Scotland Duke of Cornwall')

The Society of Antiquaries of London @antiquaries.bsky.social · 2d ago

While our events section is being fixed, why not take a look through our archive of lectures. From lectures about Danish warships to biscuit art, we've got a huge array of topics to explore. www.youtube.com/@SocAntiquar... The biscuit lecture, for reference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr7p...

Edible Research: Exploring the Material Past through Biscuit Art by Dr Ella Hawkins

YouTube video by SocAntiquaries

youtube.com

Gabriel Sánchez Espinosa @drgsespinosa.bsky.social · last mo.

Gaspar Melchor de #Jovellanos dressed in his judge attire #C18

The Society of Antiquaries of London @antiquaries.bsky.social · 2d ago

Have you heard of William Stukeley? William Stukeley (1687–1765) joined the Society of Antiquaries in 1717. The following year he was elected the Society’s first Secretary.

William Stukeley (1687-1765) is depicted whole length standing in a garden, wearing a brown coat with gold frogging, white neckcloth, grey stockings and heavy black shoes. He is clean-shaven with a long grey wig and aged about forty. Scharf describes his coat as ‘dull crimson’ and his wig as brown. To the right is a gravel path with a stone basin of water in the foreground, on which is an Italianate baroque sculpture of sea nymphs, and another figure on a sea monster and dolphins. In the middle of the avenue is a classical style archway. To the left, on the base of a column, is a shield of the Stukeley arms with a double eagle displayed.

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 3d ago

Also recently acquired by the Wadsworth Atheneum, a snuffbox with sea monsters and fish (Meissen, c1760) #c18 #c18th #18thc

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 3d ago

Recently acquired by the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn., a snuffbox depicting the card game Comète and a comet-viewing party (Meissen, c1750-60) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 4d ago

Beautiful 18th-century botanical models in wax from the Museo della Specola in Florence (source: www.finestresullarte.info/opere-e-arti...)

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 5d ago

Also at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, barometer-thermometer by Claude Siméon Passemant & Charles-Nicolas Dodin, with Sèvres porcelain and bronze mounts (France, 1768–1774) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Circular barometer in a wooden case painted green with bunches of gilt wooden fruit above. On top of the barometer, an oval frame with ribbons in gilt wooden fruit, enclosing a porcelain plaque with a painting of a putto. Below the barometer, the frame encloses an oblong porcelain plaque with the thermometer and two more porcelain panels with putti. H. 102 cm, W. 28 cm. The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. Inv. no. 2328.

Simon Beattie @simon-beattie.bsky.social · last wk.

I hadn't realised it was big Chodowiecki anniversary this year. I've always rather liked his engravings. chodowiecki300.eu

chodowiecki300

chodowiecki300.eu

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 6d ago

Writing table by Martin Carlin, with Sèvres porcelain and bronze mounts (Paris, c1772), at the newly renovated & reopened Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon #c18 #c18th #18thc

Gilt wood table on four tapering neo-classical legs. Gilt bronze mounts surrounding side panels of blue and white porcelain. On the table-top a large oval porcelain plaque framed in gilt bronze with two smaller, round plaques and a blue porcelain border. H. 73 cm, W. 67 cm, D. 39 cm. Inv. no. 2267. Photograph: Carlos Azevedo

Detail of the oval plaque in the top of the table: a ‘Chinese’ interior with a seated lady and her attendants in brilliant colours. Behind the group, a folding screen and swags of drapery, to the left an incense burner. Around the plaque is a field of dark bullies porcelain painted with tiny gold stars, pairs of putti on clouds and astronomical trophies

Alexander Huber @c18ah.bsky.social · 7d ago

Today marks the 255th anniversary of the death of Thomas Gray (1716-1771)—poet, letter-writer, scholar, polymath. Featured in the #ThomasGrayArchive: https://www.thomasgray.org/ #c18th #poetry #DH #ThomasGray #OTD

Richard White @rhwhite.bsky.social · 7d ago

Just felt like sharing and comparing some 18th-century porcelain cane handles with 'faces'. Nicely-painted, they do have a bit of character. From the Saint-Cloud, Mennecy and Doccia factories.

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 7d ago

Silver ecclesiastical (?) chalice (European, #c18 #c18th #18thc), with Nelson & Nelson, NYC

Bowl mounted to faceted and fluted shaft with globular knop; gilt studs, faceted jewels, and gilt rondel engraved with cross. Raised multi-foil foot with cherub border. Gilt bowl rim and interior. French and Dutch import marks. Very good condition.
Dimensions: H 7 1/2 x D 4 3/8 in. Weight: 10.8 troy ounces

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · last wk.

New phone, new phone case. A view of Strawberry Hill from the southeast by Johann Heinrich Müntz (c1755), which Strawberry Hill hopes to acquire for its collection (another view by the same artists is, naturally, at the Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Painting of the white, crenellated and crocketed gothick structure built by Horace Walpole, framed by trees with blue sky and clouds behind, an expanse of green lawn in the foreground. I uploaded the image when I bought the case on the Fine Art America website.

Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · last wk.

Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference

On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!

eventbrite.co.uk

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · last wk.

Badge of the Prelate of the Order of St Patrick (c1783-5), probably made for the first holder of that office, Lord Rokeby, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland, at Spink (est. £30,000-50,000) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Catalogue: The Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick, Prelate's Badge, 87mm including Bishop's Mitre suspension x 57mm, fine-worked gold and enamel, circa 1783-85, in a ornately gilt-blocked red Morocco leather fitted case, small area of green enamel loss to shamrock centre through wear, good very fine and a great rarity. [enamelled portion consists of a green shamrock with a crown on each leaf, against a red saltire, the whole within a blue circle with QVIS SEPARABIT (‘Who shall separate’) and the date MDCCLXXXIII edged in gold with little green shamrocks. Above the circle, a bishop’s mitre in gold, no enamel. Plain back. ]

From the Dictionary of Irish Biography entry on Rokeby: '... the sixth son of Sir William Robinson (1675–1720), landowner, of Rokeby Park, Greta Bridge, Yorkshire, and Anne (d. 1730), daughter of Robert Walters of Cundall, Yorkshire. Robinson was educated at Westminster School before matriculating at Christ Church, Oxford, on 13 June 1726, where he formed an important friendship with his future patron George Stone (qv), archbishop of Armagh (1747–64). Robinson graduated BA in 1730 and MA in 1733 (and was awarded the degrees of BD and DD in 1748). He embarked upon a career in the church, where his rapid rise through the ecclesiastical ranks was facilitated by aristocratic and court connections; his younger brother, General Sir Septimus Robinson (1710–1765), was governor from 1751 to 1760 of two of George III's younger brothers (the dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland), and in 1760 was made gentleman usher of the black rod, an influential position which he held until his death. These circumstances were to play a crucial role in Robinson's appointment to the see of Armagh.'

Philippe Prudent @phprudent.bsky.social · last wk.

Pourquoi ces deux portraits de grands-touristes, peints à Rome en 1778 et destinés à rejoindre leurs demeures familiales respectives en Grande-Bretagne, sont-ils aujourd’hui conservés au musée du Prado ? Un petit fil. 1/

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · last wk.

Porcelain snuffbox with gold mounts (Chantilly, c1740), with Lefays, Somerset (but sadly too expensive for me) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Dealer’s description ‘An 18th-century, circa 1740, Chantilly soft-paste porcelain snuff box with gold mounts (tested as 18 carat), decorated in Kakiemon colours, with chinoiserie scenes, unmarked. Note: Gold mounts are rare. Most Chantilly snuff box mounts are either gilt metal or silver.’
Measurements
Diameter: 6 cm (2.4 in)
Height: 3.5 cm (1.4 in)
Depth (front to back, including mounts): 6.5 cm (2.6 in)
Side view. White porcelain with a rock and foliage in pale turquoise

The other side - orange chrysanthemums with green leaves

View of the box with lid open. The interior of the box is blank, the underside of the lid painted with flowers and rocks in pale orange, blue and turquoise. A bird flutters above

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 2w ago

We love a good hater, and they abounded in the #c18 #c18th #18thc. What we don't love is the retail price of this book: C$170.50! 😳 (Enjoying the contents, however)

Cover of Thomas Leonard-Roy, Writerly Hate in Eighteenth-Century Britain (OUP, 2026) with a hand-coloured engraving of Dr Syntax asleep in his library by Thomas Rowlandson. The doctor, bewigged and dressed in black, dozes in a red armchair beside a table with books in it, bookshelves in the background. Above him flutter little figures with human heads, tadpole tails and open books for wings

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 2w ago

Watched this for the 1st time the other night & liked it more than expected! Loved Kirsten Dunst. Beautiful colour palette & the deliberate anachronism generally worked (1980s music!) #c18 #c18th #18th en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_A...

Marie Antoinette (2006 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Alain Truong ♎🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️@alaintruong.bsky.social · 2w ago

Lot 927. Property from the Dawentang Collection. A fine doucai 'Chrysanthemum medallion' bowl, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735). 11.8 diam. Price realised HKD 1,905,000 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 800,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026 www.alaintruong.com/2026/07/a-fi...

Gabriel Sánchez Espinosa @drgsespinosa.bsky.social · 2w ago

Follie gótica en el jardín inglés de la Villa Monserrate, sobre la que dejó su impronta el prerromántico y orientalista William #Beckford, autor del ‘Vathek’ #XVIII

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 2w ago

Silver hot-water urn by Paul Storr (London, 1809), with Nelson & Nelson, NYC. (Long) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Dealer's description:
Round and girdled bowl on raised foot mounted to square base with splayed leaf-capped volute-scroll terminals. Cover domed with flower-bud finial. Leaf and shell-capped bracket side handles with lion-head mounts. Tubular horizontal spout terminating in goose head; scallop shell twist-tap with patera mounts. Gadrooning. Engraved armorial. Finial has pierced plug that can be lifted to release steam. To same end, detachable liner is pierced. Detachable tubular well holds heating. Overall dimensions: H 14 1/2 x W 16 3/4 x D 15 1/2 in. Heavy weight: 168 troy ounces.

Richard White @rhwhite.bsky.social · 2w ago

Two circa 1760 Vienna porcelain chocolate cups, 'trembleuses' with raised galleries in the center of the saucer. With large flower sprays on the cups. As I get older I appreciate the importance of not knocking over the cup while it sits on the saucer and I'm holding them together.

Two porcelain cups and saucers both with painted polychrome flower decoration. Each saucer has a center reticulated gallery for holding a cup in place to avoid tipping.
Marked on the underside of all pieces with the Vienna Bundenschild mark in underglaze blue. Several numerals are written underneath, as well as a faded museum label marked LOAN.
MEASUREMENTS
Cups: 2 in. (5.1 cm) in diameter, 2 3/8 in. (6 cm) in height. Saucer: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm) in diameter.
PROVENANCE
Christie’s, New York, Sale 2203, 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe Including Carpets from The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 24 November 2009, lot 52.

The flower painters may be identified by their numeral marks on the underside of each cup and saucer.
Konrad Haab von Dettwill worked at Vienna from before 1762 until after 1787, becoming a flower painter starting in 1767 (decorator's mark No. 24)
Gottfried Schmidt worked at Vienna from 1775 until 1827 (decorator's mark No. 80)

The porcelain factory in Vienna used this reticulated gallery style quite often.

neil guthrie @nguthrie.bsky.social · 2w ago

Enamel box (English, c1780) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Small (about 2.5 cm/1 in across) rectangular box with pink sides. On the white enamel lid, a transfer print engraving of a scroll bearing the words ‘A Token of Esteem’ in script, propped against a covered neo-classical urn at the base of a tree. In the background, there is view of a church with a spire. The lid is edged in brass. Probably made in Staffordshire and intended for snuff