Exquisite and Historical ** Portrait Miniature of Lady Rochester, Original Louis XV Antique, France 1700s **
Immortalized in this Portrait Miniature is the very beautiful Lady Rochester, born Jane Leveson-Gover. Her parents were the English politician Sir William Leveson-Gower 4th Baron and Lady Jane Granville eldest daughter of the 1st Earl of Bath.
Two objets d’art in one, this remarkable early 18th century portrait miniature, thanks to its original integrated bale-loop as well as hinged support at the rear, not only constitutes “wearable art” as an antique jewellery pendant, but is equally perfect for in-home display as a precious antique painting.
- Material: Hand-painted portrait miniature in its original gilt metal frame.
- Size: 6 cm x 3.5 cm, including frame
- Condition: Excellent. No damage nor defects. All original
Shipping Worldwide. Duty-free shipping within Europe.
Payment: Send us a message if check-out proves unable to process your credit card.
Lady Rochester
Jane’s husband Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon as well as second and final Earl of Rochester (1672 – 1753), was an English author and politician. Son of the 1st Earl of Rochester and Lady Henrietta daughter of the 1st Earl of Burlington, his education began at Eton where he studied from 1683 to 1687 and then at Oxford University from 1700. He was Tory MP for Launceston (1692—1711), Privy Council of Great Britain in 1710, and High Steward of the University of Oxford in 1711. In 1719 he was one of the main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music.
To complete Jane’s story, of her three children, all sons, only the youngest, named Henry, like his father, survived to adulthood. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and subsequently made his mark as an author (receiving praise likewise from Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope), as well as in politics. Interestingly, as a politician he involved himself in a Jacobite intrigue and in 1733 persuaded France’s Ambassador to Britain as well as the French Secretary of State to sponsor the invasion of Southern England by the old Pretender to the British throne, which he claimed would result in a Jacobite uprising and topple the reigning British King. However, the plot was quashed and thereafter he steered clear of Jacobite politics. Notwithstanding, in 1737 he was elected to Parliament until 1750, at which time he was elevated to the House of Lords.
