Handkerchief

Dateca. 1775

Artist/Maker T. Laughton

MediumLinen, plate-printed

DimensionsW: 30"; L: 25 3/4"; 68 warps X 60 wefts per inch.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1959-17

DescriptionRectangular handkerchief copperplate printed with red on white linen. The subject is The Royal Family of Great Britain. A central shield-shaped cartouche outlined with bellflowers shows a group portrait consisting of two adults and ten children. The figures of children are keyed to oval plaques that contain the name and birthdate of each. Below the cartouche is the badge of the Order of the Carter and a banner held by 2 guardsmen, which bears the names of King George III and Queen Charlotte. At the top, below the title and its French translation, are 2 medallions in which appear bust portraits of the dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland with swags and garlands. The border has entwined leafy vines.
Label Text"The Royal Family of Great Britain" Handkerchief
Engraved by T. Laughton
Britain, ca. 1775
Plate-printed linen
1959-17
Britain's George III and Charlotte were married in 1761. This snuff handkerchief shows the royal couple surrounded by the ten children that were born in their first thirteen years of marriage. The queen holds the youngest boy, Frederick, born in February 1774.The handkerchief can be dated before April 1776, when their eleventh child was born.
Some of the children's clothing is based on seventeenth-century styles, especially those in the paintings of Flemish artist, Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Van Dyck-style garments were considered appropriate for portraiture because old-fashioned styles had a classic appearance, unlike modern clothing that would look dated in a few years.

MarkingsT. Laughton Sculp.