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Direct scan of object
The STATUE, or the ADORATION of the WISE-MEN of the_WEST.
Direct scan of object

The STATUE, or the ADORATION of the WISE-MEN of the_WEST.

DateApril 21, 1766
Publisher Smith
Publisher Clagget, Jr.
OriginEngland, London
MediumBlack and white line engraving
DimensionsOH: 9 1/4" x OW: 11 3/4".
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1960-38
DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "Sold by M.r Smith N.o 45 Long Acre, and M.r Clagget Jun.r in Sugar Loaf Court, Fanchurch Buildings London./ Publish'd April 21.st 1766"

"The Statue" comments on the political leaders responsible for the Stamp Act, and extols the virtues of its repeal. The center of the picture is dominated by a statue of Reverend Scott (in clerical gown and head bound with leaves of Virginia tobacco), which has been paid for by voluntary subscriptions from those who admired his effective eulogy of the burial of the act. On the base of the monument are the names of the donors, some of whom stand admiring the work. Among the gathered notables are Lord Sandwich in the guise of Jemmy Twitcher, George Townshend as Geo. Stamp, and Lord Bute as Sejanus. To the left of the tomb holding the remains of the act, the doors closed signifying the hope that it would remain forever buried. The inscription above describes the demise. Two human skulls marked "1745" and "1715" are shown on poles next to the tomb. Above the statue hovers the figure of a fury "Repeal". It carries a scourge in one hand and in the other a mirror into which Scott must forever gaze. These, suggest the satirist, are just punishments for his support of the act.
The notion of the statue is supposed to derive from that executed by Wilton, representing W. Pitt, and erected in Charles Town, South Carolina.
ProvenanceEx collection: H. Dunscombe Colt.