CABINET SET OF 36 WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT OVAL PORTRAIT MEDALLIONS OF THE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND

CABINET SET OF 36 WEDGWOOD BLACK BASALT OVAL PORTRAIT MEDALLIONS OF THE MONARCHS OF ENGLAND circa 1785-95, impressed uppercase marks, many after engravings of medals by Jean Dassier (1676 â 1763), the portraits supplied to Wedgwood by artist Thomas Astle (1735-1803), the set including the profiles of English Sovereigns from William the Conqueror to George III, framed for display in two groups of eighteen, each monarch, consort or statesman identified on a brass plaque below, h: 2 in.; accompanied by the original 18th Century three-drawer wooden case (37)

Provenance: Skinner, Boston, 3 April 1993, lot 55.
Jeffrey Milkins Collection, no. 228.

Catalogue Note:
In addition to the 'Kings of England', this set includes portraits of Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, Cromwell, Mary II, Anne and the consorts Caroline and Charlotte. For a similar set see the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Washington, D.C., catalogue of the exhibit, â Wedgwood 250 Years of Innovation and Artistryâ , 2 October 2009 - 27 February 2010, p. 44, pl. 2.21. For a set of thirty cabinet medallions of the Kings of England, previously offered by Christie's, London, see Robin Reilly, 'Wedgwood', Vol. I, p. 478, fig. 685 and reference Volume II, Appendix F, Class IX. For a framed set of thirty medallions, see The Spak Collection, Law Library Special Collections, Florida International University (FIU), Inventory no. 394.