Queen Charlotte

Queen Charlotte, glass print, circa 1762, by Thomas Frye, half length figure of Queen Charlotte three quarters facing wearing a diamond tiara and diamond necklace, HER MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY CHARLOTTE QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN &C. 310 x 420 mm, contained in original frame. An exceptional example, with very strong colours. £Sold

Frye's portrait of the young Charlotte is regarded as one of the finest examples of the art of mezzotint.
Frye, originally from Ireland, moved to London in the mid-1730s and ran the Bow China factory until ill health forced him to retire in 1759. On his recovery, he took up mezzotint. His daughters worked as painters at Bow and one, Sarah, moved to Wedgwood, where in 1773 she worked on the famous Frog service for Catherine the Great.
Queen Charlotte's arrival at court on 8th September 1761 was described by Horace Walpole. She was dressed in white and silver with " an endless mantle of violet- coloured velvet, lined with ermine.......On her head was a beautiful little tiara of diamonds; a diamond necklace and a stomacher of diamonds, worth threescore thousand pounds."

Charlotte's love of jewellery became legendary and was seized upon by the critics of the monarchy in the 1790s.

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