Portrait of Cyril Wyche
Date
c.1690s
Sitter
Cyril Wyche (1627 - 1707, British) , Lawyer
Creator
Unknown artist, in the style of Charles d' Agar (1669 - 1723, French) , Artist
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (canvas): 1270mm
width (canvas): 1016mm
width (canvas): 1016mm
Subject
Description
Three-quarter length portrait of Cyril Wyche, inclined to the right as viewed, looking out at the viewer, with one hand on his hip and the other resting on a table top. He wears a deep blue jacket with loose sleeves that reveal the white shirt beneath, with a white necktie, and a mauve shawl draped over his left arm. Behind, the outdoors is visible, a statue is depicted in a niche, above which some foliage and the sky.
In the top-left hand corner is Wyche's coat of arms. It consists of a shield quartered with the Wyche and Brett arms, and an inescutcheon of pretence of the Jermyn arms. Above, a knight's helmet and raised arm crest, and red and white mantling, and below the motto: 'NON EST GURRENTIUM'.
Sir Cyril Wyche (c.1632 - 1707), Brtish lawyer and politician, was an Original Fellow of the Royal Society, elected in 1663. He served on at least three Society Committees, as a member of Council (1699) , as Vice President (1682, 1686, 1690, 1695, 1703-1705) and as President (1683-1684). Outside of the Society, he acted as six clerk in chancery (1662-75), Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1676, 1677-1685, 1692), Member of Parliament for Callington, Cornwall (1661-1678), Preston (1702-1705), Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (1690-1702), Lord Justice of Ireland (1693) and Trustee for Iris forfeitures (1700).
Wyche was born in Constantinople to a wealthy merchant family. His grandfather, Richard Wyche (1554- 1621), was a merchant on the first Committee of Directors of the English East India Company (EIC). Though not directly involved with the EIC, Wyche’s account books indicate that he was a stockholder from the late 17th century to his death. While the EIC’s royal charter initially gave it the ability to ‘wage war’ to fight rival traders only, its army was later used to forcibly annexe several regions of the Indian subcontinent. It used enslaved people for labour across its territories until the abolition of slavery in India in 1843.
In the top-left hand corner is Wyche's coat of arms. It consists of a shield quartered with the Wyche and Brett arms, and an inescutcheon of pretence of the Jermyn arms. Above, a knight's helmet and raised arm crest, and red and white mantling, and below the motto: 'NON EST GURRENTIUM'.
Sir Cyril Wyche (c.1632 - 1707), Brtish lawyer and politician, was an Original Fellow of the Royal Society, elected in 1663. He served on at least three Society Committees, as a member of Council (1699) , as Vice President (1682, 1686, 1690, 1695, 1703-1705) and as President (1683-1684). Outside of the Society, he acted as six clerk in chancery (1662-75), Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1676, 1677-1685, 1692), Member of Parliament for Callington, Cornwall (1661-1678), Preston (1702-1705), Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (1690-1702), Lord Justice of Ireland (1693) and Trustee for Iris forfeitures (1700).
Wyche was born in Constantinople to a wealthy merchant family. His grandfather, Richard Wyche (1554- 1621), was a merchant on the first Committee of Directors of the English East India Company (EIC). Though not directly involved with the EIC, Wyche’s account books indicate that he was a stockholder from the late 17th century to his death. While the EIC’s royal charter initially gave it the ability to ‘wage war’ to fight rival traders only, its army was later used to forcibly annexe several regions of the Indian subcontinent. It used enslaved people for labour across its territories until the abolition of slavery in India in 1843.
Object history
Purchased by the Royal Society, 2019, from a private collector, prior to which it had hung in Wyche's former home, Hockwold Hall. Purchased as a pair together with a portrait of a woman of the Wyche family, possibly his third wife, Mary Wyche, née Evelyn (1648-1723).
Suspected to be the portrait referenced in Wyche's will: 'I do also give unto her [Mary]...my own picture which was drawn for her'. Wyche's account book (BL/WY 1, Norfolk Records Office) records a payment of £22 to Peter Walton (1665-1745), British picture restorer, in 1703. This confirms that he already had fine artworks in his care, which has informed the dating of this portrait. Though the artist is unknown, certain elements of the handling, notably the fingers and facial features, are reminiscent of the work of Charles d'Agar (1669-1723).
This portrait was researched with funding from the Understanding British Portraits network. Additional resources can be found at the below links:
Blogpost: https://royalsociety.org/blog/2023/06/ seeing-clearly
Google Arts & Culture exhibition: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/cwURQOD-UFAtMg
Suspected to be the portrait referenced in Wyche's will: 'I do also give unto her [Mary]...my own picture which was drawn for her'. Wyche's account book (BL/WY 1, Norfolk Records Office) records a payment of £22 to Peter Walton (1665-1745), British picture restorer, in 1703. This confirms that he already had fine artworks in his care, which has informed the dating of this portrait. Though the artist is unknown, certain elements of the handling, notably the fingers and facial features, are reminiscent of the work of Charles d'Agar (1669-1723).
This portrait was researched with funding from the Understanding British Portraits network. Additional resources can be found at the below links:
Blogpost: https://royalsociety.org/blog/2023/06/ seeing-clearly
Google Arts & Culture exhibition: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/cwURQOD-UFAtMg
Associated place
