Fresh to Moorabool

We hope you’re having a nice relaxing – and healthy- Easter.

Here’s a selection of interesting items you may enjoy, Fresh to Moorabool & with interesting stories to tell.

Wellington Portrait

A small oil portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) .
This well-painted miniature shows the famous Duke in his Major-General’s bright red dress uniform, with the Blue Sash & Order of the Garter star worn on his left breast. What’s interesting is the light tone of his wild hair – we’re used to a few famous depictions of him , all of which seem to show him with dark hair until he reaches old age, when it is obviously age-related white hair. The V& A Museum, London, has a portrait miniatures of Wellington with pale hair, the 1808 portrait by Richard Cosway. Another of a youthful Arthur Wellesley in the Stratfield Saye House collection is by John Hoppner, painted when Arthur was in his mid 20’s, circa 1795 – before he earned his place in the history books.

Wellington Shield Sketch

Related directly to the portrait above, this curious pen & wash sketch depicts the special thank-you presented to Wellington in 1821, commissioned by the Merchants and Bankers of London. It is a large gilt-silver work of art, They were obviously very, very grateful for Wellington’s part in keeping the trade routes freely flowing! This interesting small-scale ink & wash depiction has a story to tell – we’ve discovered the source the artist used.

The Macintosh Clan Silver

A recent find at Moorabool was a large quantity of luxury silver. Unsurprisingly, it has an aristocratic crest engraved on the handles – and one which we are already familiar with, as we have had ceramics with the same symbol.
This is the Wildcat of Clan Macintosh.

These fierce Scots supported Robert the Bruce in the 14th century; Mary Queen of Scotts in the 16th century; and Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 18th century.
Their crest is in keeping with this ‘prickly’ nature: A wild cat, ‘guardant’ – rising up with claws out to attack.
The motto when included reads ‘TOUCH NOT THE CAT BOT(without) A-GLOVE’ – in other words, don’t mess with these wild Scotsmen!