The Jovial Cleric

This 18th century portrait depicts a well-fed and jovial-looking professional gentleman in a clerical robe and bands with long bob wig. Painted on copper, there is a tantalising inscription on the reverse but it’s indecipherable apart from a possible date of 1740.

The portrait has a couple of old light scratches and is set in the original turned pearwood frame that has been later gilded. As is so often the case with these turned frames, it has two old cracks that have long ago been repaired on the back so the portrait is perfectly stable and ready to hang.