About this lot
Description
watercolour on ivory; the seated Duchess with long curling brown hair adorned with a circular clip, dressed in a fur edged dress and wearing a delicate necklace, the oval gilded scroll edged frame with engraved decoration, 'CAB' initial monogram under a coronet to the top, verso with an oval shaped glazed compartment with a lock of woven brown hair, concealed bale, length 15cm, width 13cm, with simple integral A frame stand and presented in the original fitted case with associated documentation
Footnote: Provenance: By direct descent to the current vendor Charlotte Anne Thynne (1811-1895) married Walter Francis Montague Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, on 13th March 1829. He commissioned a painting of his wife along with this miniature, which was presented to Miss Augusta Emma d'Este (later The Rt Hon Lady Truro), a great friend of Charlotte's. Miss d'Este was the daughter of Lady Augusta De Ameland and the Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of King George III. On her death, Lady Truro bequeathed the miniature to Lady Victoria Alexandrina Montague Douglas Scott, eldest daughter of Walter and Charlotte. The extract from Lady Truro's will, which accompanies this lot, reads; 'I bequeath to the right honourable the Lady Victoria being the eldest daughter of the present Duke of Buccleuch the miniature of her mother the Duchess of Buccleuch.....which was given to me by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch' In 1841, Charlotte succeeded the Duchess of Sutherland as mistress of the robes to Queen Victoria. Charlotte and the Queen were lifelong friends with the monarch describing the Duchess as "an agreeable, sensible, clever little person." The Duke and Duchess entertained the Queen and Prince Albert on their visits to their home in Dalkeith, Scotland. Queen Victoria was godmother to the Duchess' eldest daughter, Victoria Alexandrina, who was christened at Buckingham Palace in April 1845. Robert Thorburn (1818-1885), was born in Dumfries, Scotland, and it was with the support of the Duke and Duchess that he was able to move to London in 1836, aged just 15, to study at the Royal Academy turning almost exclusively to miniature painting The Duke commissioned him to paint several portraits of the Duchess, and Thorburn became well known amongst the Royal circle as a portrait miniature painter, with Queen Victoria commissioning a number of sittings. She was impressed by his '… splendid miniatures, with such depth of colouring & such power as I have never before seen in a miniature' (Journal, 23 February 1844). Thorburn produced very large miniatures by experimenting with new techniques and cutting slices of ivory from the circumference of the tusk, which were then laid flat under intense pressure. Although no other account of his life makes mention of it, Queen Victoria described him as 'a young Scotchman, of great talent, who studied for two winters in Italy' (Journal, 23 February 1844). Although the portrait is unsigned, it is very probable, given its background and ownership, that this was painted by Thorburn. Text adapted from Victoria & Albert: Art & Love, London, 2010
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