Funeral effigy of Oliver Cromwell
Date
1810
Sitter
Oliver Cromwell (1599 - 1658, British)
Creator
James Caldwall (1739 - 1822, British) , Engraver
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 170mm
width (print): 103mm
width (print): 103mm
Subject
Description
Scene showing a sculpture, or effigy, of Oliver Cromwell, standing upright, in state, at his funeral. The object is shown on a raised dais, with standards and candles on each side, and Cromwell’s armour at its feet.
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 engraving, one of three relating to this sitter, appears at p.56, as Weld’s History gives an account of the Restoration: ‘the country had been torn by political revolutions, which, after the death of Cromwell, threatened to end in complete anarchy…’ According to the Diary of Thomas Burton (London, H, Colburn, 1828), Cromwell’s funeral procession included ‘the waxen effigies of the Protector with a crown on his head, a sword by his side, a globe and sceptre in his hands, was taken down from his standings and laid in an open chariot…’ The ‘effigies’ was carved in wood and ‘enamelled with wax’.
Inscribed below: ‘His HIGHNESS Effigies standing in state. Engraved by Jas. Caldwall from the original Print in the Collection of JOHN TOWNELEY Esqr.’
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) lord protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland; a commander in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War.
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 engraving, one of three relating to this sitter, appears at p.56, as Weld’s History gives an account of the Restoration: ‘the country had been torn by political revolutions, which, after the death of Cromwell, threatened to end in complete anarchy…’ According to the Diary of Thomas Burton (London, H, Colburn, 1828), Cromwell’s funeral procession included ‘the waxen effigies of the Protector with a crown on his head, a sword by his side, a globe and sceptre in his hands, was taken down from his standings and laid in an open chariot…’ The ‘effigies’ was carved in wood and ‘enamelled with wax’.
Inscribed below: ‘His HIGHNESS Effigies standing in state. Engraved by Jas. Caldwall from the original Print in the Collection of JOHN TOWNELEY Esqr.’
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) lord protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland; a commander in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War.
Object history
Print from Charles Richard Weld's A history of the Royal Society, vol. 1... (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