An emblematic view of london after the end of the seven years war; in the centre, surrounded by a moat, is a formal garden with a statue of george iii based on allan ramsay's portrait standing on a fountain from which jets of water play on young shrubs; the fountain is filled from a pipe operated by the earl of bute; a large shrub in a pot labelled "culloden" is watered directly from the urn held by the figure of aquarius, one of a series of zodiacal signs in the sky; to left, an open-fronted building with the speaker on his throne and members of parliament who either sleep or else fire guns at the dove of peace flying above; to right, a building representing the society of arts, on top of which is a crane hauling up an enormous palette labelled "premium" (alluding to the annual prizes given to promising artists), a mob including soldiers with missing limbs, and a pillory in which stand fanny lynes ("the cock lane ghost", a hoax of early 1762) and john wilkes; in the distance, a hospital and the kew gardens pagoda. 1762/3
etching and engraving. Date: between 1762 and 1763. Dimensions: Height: 253 mm; Width: 312 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: George III, King of the United Kingdom. Collection: British Museum. The Times Plate 2 (BM 1868,0822.1626)
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