Sir William Hamilton Art

Beautiful portrait of Elizabeth Duchess of Hamilton, in very good conditions. Prov. Ederheimer Gallery N.Y. Private Collection, Italy

...Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities.... Hamilton, Sir William. 1730 – 1803. Collection of Etruscan Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. W. Hamilton. 4 vols. Naples, 1766-7. D’Hancarvills, sculpt. Aquatint Engravings in Black and Terra Cotta Inks. Finishing in Original Hand-Color. In 1764, Sir William Hamilton arrived in Naples to take up his new appointment as British Envoy Extraordinary to the Bourbon Court of King Ferdinand IV. At the time of his arrival, Italy was still a largely untapped field of archaeological discovery and there was ample opportunity for the private individual to amass a collection or 'cabinet' of classical antiquities at relatively little expense. The sites of the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, although now under Royal control, were still being only haphazardly excavated and were openly vandalized. Hamilton himself complained of the fact, but also seems to have taken advantage of it. Hamilton's first collection was in fact acquired by the British Museum in 1772 where it formed the foundation of the now great collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. This was the first major collection of Greek vases (or, as they were then known, Etruscan) to reach England's shores. "To Hamilton belongs the merit of being the first to appreciate with warmth the severe beauty of their shapes, colouring and drawing, the mingled simplicity and feeling of the designs figured upon them; and it was he who recognized the value of these unpretentious vessels for forming and ennobling modern art-taste". (Adolph Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge 1882, p. 110) Hamilton found a worthy ally in Josiah Wedgwood who was setting up a new factory appropriately called "Etruria". Opened in June of 1769, Wedgwood was to use Hamilton's models again and again in his pottery with many designs taken directly from the engravings. Etruscan antiquities...

...Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities.... Hamilton, Sir William. 1730 – 1803. Collection of Etruscan Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. W. Hamilton. 4 vols. Naples, 1766-7. D’Hancarvills, sculpt. Aquatint Engravings in Black and Terra Cotta Inks. Finishing in Original Hand-Color. In 1764, Sir William Hamilton arrived in Naples to take up his new appointment as British Envoy Extraordinary to the Bourbon Court of King Ferdinand IV. At the time of his arrival, Italy was still a largely untapped field of archaeological discovery and there was ample opportunity for the private individual to amass a collection or 'cabinet' of classical antiquities at relatively little expense. The sites of the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, although now under Royal control, were still being only haphazardly excavated and were openly vandalized. Hamilton himself complained of the fact, but also seems to have taken advantage of it. Hamilton's first collection was in fact acquired by the British Museum in 1772 where it formed the foundation of the now great collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. This was the first major collection of Greek vases (or, as they were then known, Etruscan) to reach England's shores. "To Hamilton belongs the merit of being the first to appreciate with warmth the severe beauty of their shapes, colouring and drawing, the mingled simplicity and feeling of the designs figured upon them; and it was he who recognized the value of these unpretentious vessels for forming and ennobling modern art-taste". (Adolph Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge 1882, p. 110) Hamilton found a worthy ally in Josiah Wedgwood who was setting up a new factory appropriately called "Etruria". Opened in June of 1769, Wedgwood was to use Hamilton's models again and again in his pottery with many designs taken directly from the engravings. Etruscan antiquities...