"Catherine II places in its niche the bust of Fox which is being hauled into position by a rope over a pulley held by a Russian bear, who crouches (right) beside the steps on which the Empress stands. She is in back view, very stout, wearing ermine-trimmed robes with a laurel wreath in place of the usual crown. On each side of the bust is a larger alcove for whole length statues of 'ΔΕΜΟΣΘΕΝΗΣ' and 'M.T. CICERO'. These statues are stepping down from their niches, looking apprehensively at Fox. Their eyes have the blankness of sculpture, but their faces express indignant alarm. Cicero holds a scroll: 'In Cata[linam]'. Fox's head is that of life rather than of sculpture. Above it is an oval picture or bas-relief inscribed 'Regulus'; a number of men are imprisoning a victim in a large cask lined with spikes. Demosthenes (left) steps down from his niche on to one of two large packing-cases inscribed 'Houghton Collection For The Emp[ress of] Russia' and 'Hough . . .' (Catherine having bought pictures from the collection of Sir Robert Walpole). Beside them stands a bust of Paul Jones, wearing a cocked hat and looking up at Fox with a sinister glare. Cicero steps down on to the arm of the Imperial throne, which is formed by the neck of a vulture; the legs of the throne are those of a bird of prey. On its seat lies a scroll inscribed: 'Memorial Ambassador extraordinary Sheweth That your Memorialists are attached to your Majesty and have opposed the Armament, divided against the Minister [ ? leaving him in a] small Majority, rai[led] against the Balance [of] Power, chalked up [on] the Walls in capital [letters] No Russian War.' (The right edge of the document is cut off by the margin of the design, leaving some of the words to be supplied by the reader.) Under the chair lies a dog. The vulture's claw which forms a leg of the throne is planted on a large map across the word 'Oczak[ow]'; 'The Bog', 'The Neister', and 'Black Sea' are also shown. The Russian bear is crouching on this map."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Signed with the monogram of James Sayers., Temporary local subject terms: Symbols: Russian bear -- Birds -- Furnishings: Throne with vulture's heads and legs -- Statues -- Busts -- Maps: Russia's expansions westward -- Pictures amplifying subject: Regulus tortured by Carthaginians -- Art collections: allusion to Catherine II's purchase of Sir Robert Walpole's collection., and Mounted.
Publisher:
Published 15th March 1792 by Thos. Cornell, Bruton Street
Subject (Name):
Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Catherine II, Empress of Russia, 1729-1796, Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792, Cicero, Marcus Tullius., Regulus, Marcus Atilius, -250 B.C.?, and Demosthenes.
Subject (Topic):
Bears, Vultures, Thrones, Sculpture, Pulleys, and Maps
