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Lot Essay
Sir Francis Dashwood, (d. 1724), was the son of Francis Dashwood, Alderman of London, and succeeded his father with his brother Samuel Dashwood in his business as silk importers. Member of the British East India Company and the Worshipful Company of Vintners, he bought West Wycombe in 1698. He was married four times; to Mary Jennings (d. 1694) in 1683, Lady Mary Fane (d. 1710) in 1705, Mary King (d. 1717) in 1712 and Lady Elizabeth Windsor (d. 1736) in 1720. He was knighted in 1702.
This series was first woven during the period when the great Mortlake Tapestry Workshop was dissolved and its weavers and designers opened independent workshops. One such workshop at Hatton Garden was founded by Francis Poyntz (d. 1685) and subsequently continued by his son Thomas Poyntz until the early 18th Century. The atelier wove several series for the King, including in 1683 a series of The Months, which was one of the most successful sets by these newly founded workshops. Indeed Stephen de May who was active in the last decade 17th and first decade 18th Century and ran the Spring Garden workshop is recorded as having woven several sets, including for Lord Nottingham, Burley on the Hill, and another to the Palazzo Spinola in Genova (D. Heinz, Europäische Tapisseriekunst des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, 1995, pp. 186-187). A complete set from this series formerly in the collection of Lord Ilchester, Melbury Court, was sold from the Vigo-Sternberg Collection, Sotheby's, London, 29 June 1996, lots 24-35 and another set is partly on display in the Privy Chamber of the King's Sate Apartments at Kensington Palace, London.
This series was first woven during the period when the great Mortlake Tapestry Workshop was dissolved and its weavers and designers opened independent workshops. One such workshop at Hatton Garden was founded by Francis Poyntz (d. 1685) and subsequently continued by his son Thomas Poyntz until the early 18th Century. The atelier wove several series for the King, including in 1683 a series of The Months, which was one of the most successful sets by these newly founded workshops. Indeed Stephen de May who was active in the last decade 17th and first decade 18th Century and ran the Spring Garden workshop is recorded as having woven several sets, including for Lord Nottingham, Burley on the Hill, and another to the Palazzo Spinola in Genova (D. Heinz, Europäische Tapisseriekunst des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, 1995, pp. 186-187). A complete set from this series formerly in the collection of Lord Ilchester, Melbury Court, was sold from the Vigo-Sternberg Collection, Sotheby's, London, 29 June 1996, lots 24-35 and another set is partly on display in the Privy Chamber of the King's Sate Apartments at Kensington Palace, London.