“ARMS OF THE DUCHESS OF KENDALL.”
This print may, with great credit to the abilities of our artist, be held forth as an exemplification of his superior taste and skill in the profession. The boys are grouped with a simplicity and elegance in their attitudes not unworthy of the pencil of Cipriani; nor is the drawing of the savages who support the armorial bearings less to be admired; the manner in which they are etched denotes a freedom of style and superiority of taste rarely to be met with in works of this kind.
These arms were engraved on a large silver dish, which was sent to Mrs. Godfrey, a silversmith, in Norris Street, in the Haymarket, to be melted down. The lady for whom this plate was engraved was a German countess, named Erengard Schuylemberg. She came to England soon after the accession of King George the First to the throne, with whom, she is said to have been closely connected. She was created in July, 1716, in the second year of his reign, Baroness of Dundalk, in the country of Lowth, Countess and Marchioness of Dungannon, in the country of Tyrone, and Duchess of the province of Munster - all in the kingdom of Ireland: and in April, 1719, received the additional titles of Baroness of Glastonbury, in the country of Somerset; Countess of Faversham, in the country of Kent; and Duchess of Kendall, in the country of Westmoreland - all in the kingdom of England. From the lozenge in which these arms are enclosed, this lady was apparently a spinster. But it is somewhat singular, that the arms of a Duke of Kendall should have been engraved on some pieces of plate about that period, and that evidently by the graver of Hogarth.
Of those arms, there are four different specimens no extant, within a male shield, and with a ducal coronet. They may possibly have been her own arms as a German countess, as the coronet, though ducal, varies materially from that here introduced. If so, Hogarth might have copied them on her plate upon her first arrival in this country, before she received English honours.
Though this lady had no son, she certainly had a niece, or nearer relative, named Melosina de Schuylemberg, created Countess of Walsingham, Baroness of Aldborough, in the country of York, by patent, bearing date 7th of April 1722. She married Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, and died without issue in 1773.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.
Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates. Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence. This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently. Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.
Engravings, lithographs, ect. are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one. Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated in the auction, thus giving the buyer an idea of it's age.
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