Lady strathmore sits drinking with her servants; she leans back in her chair, a small flagon (indicating gin) in her right hand, a glass in her left; her breasts are bare and are sucked by two cats. A little boy (left) stands beside her chair crying; he says, "i wish i was a cat my mama would love me then". A footman, wearing a nightcap and holding a candle, puts his hand on her arm, saying, "my lady its time to come to bed". A number of women-servants are seated at a rectangular table, the most prominent being one whose head and arms have advanced from her body and lean on the table; she holds out a glass to touch that of lady strathmore; in her right hand is a decanter; on her lap is a paper: 'duty of a ladies maid, by m. Morgan see old baly chronle'. Four other servants drink in a debauched manner, one holds a broom, another a spit. A man (right) looks round a folding screen, his hand raised in surprise. On the extreme left a man stands with his hands on his hips, spectacles pushed up on his forehead; he looks at a map on the wall of the '[bowe]s estate', showing 'newcastle' and 'durham', and says, "we'll have it farmer and nearer". He is either stoney (afterwards stoney-bowes) or some other fortune-hunter. On the wall there is also a picture, 'messalina'. C. 1786 or c. May 1788
hand-coloured soft-ground etching. Date: 1786. Dimensions: Height: 274 mm; Width: 400 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Andrew Robinson Bowes. Collection: British Museum. The Injured Count,, S- (BM 1868,0808.5501)
Loading...
