WEDGWOOD & BENTLEY LIGHT-BLUE JASPERWARE OVAL PORTRAIT MEDALLION OF SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON (1730-1803)

WEDGWOOD & BENTLEY LIGHT-BLUE JASPERWARE OVAL PORTRAIT MEDALLION OF SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON (1730-1803) circa 1775-80, impressed Wedgwood & Bentley, modeled by Joachim Smith, applied with a white relief shoulder-length profile, to sinister, the Ambassador depicted with tied coif and court dress, h: 4 in.

Provenance: With J.S. Fine Art Auctions, Banbury, UK, 2016.
Jeffrey Milkins Collection, no. 844.

Catalogue Note:
William Hamilton was 'Envoy Extraordinary to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies' at the Court of Naples (1764-1800) and a prominent antiquarian. Through both actively promoting the excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum and directly by his collecting activities, he influenced the popularity of the Neo-classic style. Wedgwood & Bentley studied his discoveries, collection and their publication closely. For a concise biography and a similar medallion, see Robin Reilly and George Savage, 'Wedgwood: The Portrait Medallions', p. 844. For a white jasperware example see, The British Museum, accession no. 1887,0307,I.68.