Lot 6: A SET OF FOUR IRISH GEORGE II EMBOSSED PAPER PICTURES OF BIRDS

A SET OF FOUR IRISH GEORGE II EMBOSSED PAPER PICTURES OF BIRDS BY SAMUEL DIXON, CIRCA 1775 Four from the basso relievo set of 'Foreign and Domestick Birds' depicting: A Chaffinch with a group of flowers, labelled dedication to 'the Countess of Meath'; A blue and yellow Maccaw, Sparrow of Paradise and an Indian Red-Staf, labelled dedication to 'the Lady Castle-Comer'; A green-Indian bee-eater, Brazilian finch and a black and white Indian starling, fragmented labelled dedication to 'the Lady Howth; A green-winged dove and a cock and hen red-throated humming bird at nest, fragmented labelled dedication to 'the Lady Molesworth' 14 ¼ x 17 ¾ in (36.3 x 45.1 cm.); including frame

36.3 x 45.1 cm.

CIRCA 1775

Acquired from Norman Adams, London, June 1997.

Samuel Dixon's first 'Sett of curious Foreign Bird Pieces' were advertised in Faulkner's Dublin Journal 4 April 1749. The subject matter derived from George Edward's Natural History of Uncommon Birds, published 1743-51, and the descriptions were also drawn directly from Edwards' works. From the outset Dixon had invited subscriptions from the nobility and gentry, and accordingly the set carried a printed dedication to the Rt. Hon. Chaworth Brabazon, Earl of Meath. The four pictures offered here are from Dixon's second and more ambitious set of bird pictures, the so-called 'Foreign and Domestick Birds'. They differed from the 1750 set in size and in the complexity of their compositions, some featuring as many as three birds, insects, flowers and fruit, shells and corals. Faulkner's Dublin Journal reported on 21 August 1753 that 'Mr Dixon of Capel-street, is designing a most curious large set of Pictures', but it was not until 9 September 1755 that they were finished and ready for distribution to subscribers. Whereas the earlier set had carried a single dedication, each of the twelve now carried an individual dedication, representing a distinguished roll-call of the Irish gentry. A complete set of twelve of this second edition was sold Christie's, London, 7 June 2007, lot 20 (£108,000 including premium).