"Two figures, over life-size, on a low pedestal embrace; the King as Bacchus, nude except for a girdle of vine-leaves and grapes, and a wig decked with leaves; Lady Conyngham as Ariadne, a more classic figure, with drapery hanging from the hips. Against the pedestal leans a portfolio: Lady C------s Attitudes Suppressed. A connoisseur (right) gazes up through an eye-glass, saying, Bacchus was the God of Wine and good cheer, his 'favourite was Cxxxxxxm [lightly scored through] Ariadne, she was another mans Wife. Lord Conyngham (left), with antlers sprouting from his forehead, looks up at the statues; he says, Poh! Poh! this is never meant for Bacchus and Ariadne, It's more like my Wife and the * * * * or I'm no Cunning-sure I mean Connoisseur."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Publisher's statement etched within bottom part of image, on portfolio leaning against pedestal of statue., Date of publication from British Museum catalogue., Mounted to 58 x 39 cm., Mounted on leaf 4 in volume 2 of the W.E. Gladstone collection of caricatures and broadsides surrounding the "Queen Caroline Affair.", and Figures of "Conyngham" and "Lady Conyngham" identified in ink below image, with the additional identification of "George IV" written in pencil at bottom of sheet; the word "Suppressed" has been added in ink in the lower right, followed by the date "Nov. 1820."
Publisher:
Pubd. J.L. Marks, 28 Fetter Lane, Fleet St.
Subject (Name):
George IV, King of Great Britain, 1762-1830, Conyngham, Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness, -1861, Conyngham, Henry Conyngham, Marquess, 1766-1832, Dionysus (Greek deity), and Ariadne (Greek mythological character)
Subject (Topic):
Adultery, Mistresses, Sculpture, Portfolios, Hand lenses, and Antlers