Augustus Charles Pugin (c. 1768–1832)
The Horse Armoury in the Tower of London. published
Etching with aquatint and hand-colouring | 21.7 x 26.5 cm (sheet of paper) (sheet of paper) | RCIN 702283
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A hand-coloured print depicting armoured cavalry soldiers on display in the Horse Armoury in the Tower of London. Lettered with the title and the following production details: 'Rowlandson & Pugin del.t et sculp.t / Sunderland aqua.t'. Trimmed on all sides. Plate 101 to R. Ackermann's The Microcosm of London (London 1808-10).
The 'Microcosm of London' was published in three volumes between 1808 and 1810. It comprised descriptions of notable London institutions by William Henry Pyne which were accompanied by illustrations by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson. The entries were arranged alphabetically, to allow the book to be used as ‘a sort of dictionary’. Pugin and Rowlandson worked collaboratively, with the former providing the architecture and the latter peopling the scenes with figures. The 'Microcosm' was dedicated to the Prince of Wales (later George IV); the Prince's copy is in the Royal Collection (see RCIN 1076683).
The text in the Microcosm (vol. 3) which this plate illustrates described this room in the Tower of London as presenting 'a very striking spectacle', displaying effigies, on horseback, allegedly of the Kings of England from William the Conqueror to George II in armour. John Britton and Edward Wedlake Brayley's later publication, Memoirs of the Tower of London (London, 1830), complained about the armoury's 'incongruous mass of discordant materials', citing a number of historical anachronisms. They applauded the scholarly reorganisation of the collections of the armoury by the collector and historian Samuel Rush Meyrick, which had taken place in 1826; two years later, Meyrick advised on the display of the arms and armour at Windsor Castle.Provenance
In the Royal Collection by c.1900.
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Creator(s)
(aquatinter) -
Medium and techniques
Etching with aquatint and hand-colouring
Measurements
21.7 x 26.5 cm (sheet of paper) (sheet of paper)
Category
Object type(s)
Alternative title(s)
HORSE ARMOURY, / TOWER.
