Portrait of Hans Sloane
Date
mid 18th century
Sitter
Hans Sloane (1660 - 1753, Irish) , Physician
Creator
B Cole (1645 - 1732, British) , Engraver
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 190mm
width (print): 110 mm
width (print): 110 mm
Subject
Description
Half-length portrait of Sir Hans Sloane, wearing a long, curled wig, with a coat, waistcoat and lave cravat. Sloane is presented within an architectural niche, holding a book which rests upon a pedestal. His right hand is on his hip. Above, a decorative acanthus, below, a vignette featuring the snake and staff of the rod of Asclepius.
Plate from a grangerized copy of A history of the Royal Society, with memoirs of the Presidents…by Charles Richard Weld (London, John W. Parker, 1848). In this edition, the original two volumes were extended to eight volumes with the addition of extra-illustrations and documents, by Alexander Meyrick Broadley.
The print appears at p.354 in volume 3 of the adapted set of Weld’s History. Weld describes the controversy surrounding Sloane’s management of the Philosophical Transactions and Dr. John Woodward’s statement that Sloane attributed the authorship of a satirical pamphlet, The Transactioneer, to Woodward.
Inscribed above: ‘Engrav’d for the NEW Universal Magazine.’. Inscribed below: ‘B. Cole Sculp. Sr. HANS SLOANE Bart:’.
Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), Irish physician and collector, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1685, served on its Council from 1690 and as its president from 1727-1741. He was a famous collector, and in building and researching his plant, animal and curio specimen collection, he is known to have relied on contacts involved in colonial networks, and often indigenous and enslaved peoples.
Plate from a grangerized copy of A history of the Royal Society, with memoirs of the Presidents…by Charles Richard Weld (London, John W. Parker, 1848). In this edition, the original two volumes were extended to eight volumes with the addition of extra-illustrations and documents, by Alexander Meyrick Broadley.
The print appears at p.354 in volume 3 of the adapted set of Weld’s History. Weld describes the controversy surrounding Sloane’s management of the Philosophical Transactions and Dr. John Woodward’s statement that Sloane attributed the authorship of a satirical pamphlet, The Transactioneer, to Woodward.
Inscribed above: ‘Engrav’d for the NEW Universal Magazine.’. Inscribed below: ‘B. Cole Sculp. Sr. HANS SLOANE Bart:’.
Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), Irish physician and collector, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1685, served on its Council from 1690 and as its president from 1727-1741. He was a famous collector, and in building and researching his plant, animal and curio specimen collection, he is known to have relied on contacts involved in colonial networks, and often indigenous and enslaved peoples.
Object history
Print from Charles Richard Weld's A history of the Royal Society, vol. 3... (London, John W. Parker, 1848) grangerized by the writer and collector Alexander Meyrick Broadley (1847–1916) into 8 volumes, adding illustrative material and manuscript items to Weld's text. The books were initially owned by Ludwig Mond FRS (1839–1909), and according to an inscription by his son Robert Ludwig Mond FRS (1867–1938) they were intended for presentation to the Society. This eventually happened in late 1959, the donor being the politician Harry Nathan (1889–1963), Lord Nathan of Churt.
Related fellows
Charles Richard Weld (1813 - 1869, British) , Author
Associated place