HENRY BONE, R.A., ENAMEL PAINTING ON PORCELAIN

HENRY BONE, R.A. (BRITISH, 1755–1834), ENAMEL PAINTING ON PORCELAIN, 1814, H 8.4", W 6.75" An enamel portrait of Laurence Sterne by Henry Bone after the original by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Laurence Sterne rose to fame in the middle of the eighteenth century after the success of the first two volumes of his novel Tristram Shandy was published. The original painting hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Sterne is pictured in the robes of a cleric, staring out at the viewer with drafts of his famous novel nearby and a writer's ink and quill on the table. The verso bears an inscription "Laurence Sterne, London, Feb. 1814- Painted by Henry Bone, R.A. Painter in Ordinary to His Majesty. Enamel Painter to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent after the Original picture by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the possession of the Earl of Upper Ossory."
Condition Report: Some warping, a small chip in the upper right corner, a larger chip in the bottom left corner, and several small hairline cracks. Framed in a Rococo bronze d'ore frame with a shell and scroll motif.