Etching
Engraving
Maker & role
James Gillray (b.1757, d.1815), Artist; Hannah Humphrey, Publisher
Production date
04 Jul 1795
See full details
Object detail
Title
The great South Sea caterpillar, transformed into a Bath butterfly.
Production place
Collection
Measurements
Sight, H: 30.5 x W: 24.3cm (H: 305 x W: 243mm); Plate mark, H: 35 x W: 24.7cm (H: 350 x W: 247mm); Sheet, H: 41.5 x W: 28.4cm (H: 415 x W: 284mm)
Production notes
Published by H. Humphrey, 37 New Bond Street.
Subject person
Signature & marks
Imprint upper right "Pubd July 4th. 1795 by H. Humphrey No.37 / New Bond Street".
Printed beneath image on right "J[ame]s G[illra]y des[crivi]t et fac[i]t."
Title printed beneath image "The great South Sea Caterpillar, transform'd into a Bath Butterfly".
Printed beneath title "This insect first crawl'd into notice from among the Weeds and Mud on the Banks of the South sea; & being afterwards placed in a Warm Situation by the Royal Society, was changed by the heat of the Sun into its present form. It is notic’d and Valued Solely on account of the beautiful Red which encircles its Body, and the Shining Spot on its Breast; a Distinction which never fails to render Caterpillars valuable.”
Printed beneath image on right "J[ame]s G[illra]y des[crivi]t et fac[i]t."
Title printed beneath image "The great South Sea Caterpillar, transform'd into a Bath Butterfly".
Printed beneath title "This insect first crawl'd into notice from among the Weeds and Mud on the Banks of the South sea; & being afterwards placed in a Warm Situation by the Royal Society, was changed by the heat of the Sun into its present form. It is notic’d and Valued Solely on account of the beautiful Red which encircles its Body, and the Shining Spot on its Breast; a Distinction which never fails to render Caterpillars valuable.”
Credit line
Gift, through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2006
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Bay House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Description
Etched and engraved broadsheet with satirical (caricature) portrait on the conferring of the Order of the Bath on Sir Joseph Banks for services to science. The work depicts Banks’s head and torso, wreathed with trailing foliage, emerging with wings from a caterpillar state, angled towards the the sun (with a crown at its centre, symbolising Royal favour) at the upper right. On cream paper with publisher's colouring in light and dark blue, green, crimson, yellow and pink. Imprint upper right "Pubd July 4th. 1795 by H. Humphrey No.37 / New Bond Street". Printed beneath image on right "J[ame]s G[illra]y des[crivi]t et fac[i]t." The satirical intention of the picture is conveyed by the title "The great South Sea Caterpillar, transform'd into a Bath Butterfly" and lengthy description (parodying natural history description) printed beneath the image "This insect first crawl'd into notice from among the Weeds and Mud on the Banks of the South sea; & being afterwards placed in a Warm Situation by the Royal Society, was changed by the heat of the Sun into its present form. It is notic’d and Valued Solely on account of the beautiful Red which encircles its Body, and the Shining Spot on its Breast; a Distinction which never fails to render Caterpillars valuable.” The shore is strewn with various items, shells and weeds, satirising the interests and obsessions of a ‘natural philosopher’ like Banks.
The Elizabeth Bay House collection is rich in portraiture owing to the survival of an inventory of pictures at Brownlow Hill, 1859. The subjects of the portraits suggests that the collection had been formed by Alexander Macleay (1767-1848) and possibly taken to Brownlow Hill when Macleay was forced to leave Elizabeth Bay House in 1845. Engraved versions of the portraits have been acquired for Elizabeth Bay House on the basis of the inventory. The inventory includes a portrait of Banks. Macleay was a member of the Linnean Society of London from 1794 and its Secretary from 1798-1825. In 1806 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, which enjoyed the patronage of its founder, George III, who had a range of scientific interests. Macleay and Banks were known to each other. Macleay’s interests in natural history almost certainly benefited his civil service career.
Portraits in the 18th century were composed with costume and other elements chosen for their symbolic meaning, much as the ‘attributes’ of allegorical art. This assisted the work of the satirist. The ‘red of the body’ and ‘the spot’ mentioned in the description are respectively the red sash and star of the Order of the Bath, which Banks wears in all his portraits. The butterfly’s wings are decorated with specimens, including a shell shaped like the French revolutionary ‘bonnet rouge’, which “...articulated conservative fears of the dangerous political implications of philosophical experimentation” (Fara).
Museums of History NSW has several portraits of Sir Joseph Banks, including an oil version of the Royal Society portrait by Thomas Philips c. 1810 (formerly in the Caroline Simpson collection, now Museum of Sydney collection, MOS 2005/34). The Elizabeth Bay House collection has several engraved portraits, including a mezzotint printed in India ink after Sir Joshua Reynolds of Banks returned from the Endeavour voyage c. 1774 (long term loan), an engraved portrait by William Daniell (1811) after George Dance (1803) (EB2002/2) and a stipple engraving by Cardon after Sir Thomas Lawrence RA (1810, EB72/2). This caricature is an important counterpart to the other engraved portraits, reflecting similar technical advances in the manufacture of printing plates, etching and engraving. It demonstrates themes of portraiture such as composition, social class and status, politics, props illustrating attributes of the sitter incorporated in portraits, patronage versus a popular market. Of interest is a caricature portrait of Alexander Macleay, 1843 reproduced in Elizabeth Bay House: a history and guide. p. 5.
The Elizabeth Bay House collection is rich in portraiture owing to the survival of an inventory of pictures at Brownlow Hill, 1859. The subjects of the portraits suggests that the collection had been formed by Alexander Macleay (1767-1848) and possibly taken to Brownlow Hill when Macleay was forced to leave Elizabeth Bay House in 1845. Engraved versions of the portraits have been acquired for Elizabeth Bay House on the basis of the inventory. The inventory includes a portrait of Banks. Macleay was a member of the Linnean Society of London from 1794 and its Secretary from 1798-1825. In 1806 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, which enjoyed the patronage of its founder, George III, who had a range of scientific interests. Macleay and Banks were known to each other. Macleay’s interests in natural history almost certainly benefited his civil service career.
Portraits in the 18th century were composed with costume and other elements chosen for their symbolic meaning, much as the ‘attributes’ of allegorical art. This assisted the work of the satirist. The ‘red of the body’ and ‘the spot’ mentioned in the description are respectively the red sash and star of the Order of the Bath, which Banks wears in all his portraits. The butterfly’s wings are decorated with specimens, including a shell shaped like the French revolutionary ‘bonnet rouge’, which “...articulated conservative fears of the dangerous political implications of philosophical experimentation” (Fara).
Museums of History NSW has several portraits of Sir Joseph Banks, including an oil version of the Royal Society portrait by Thomas Philips c. 1810 (formerly in the Caroline Simpson collection, now Museum of Sydney collection, MOS 2005/34). The Elizabeth Bay House collection has several engraved portraits, including a mezzotint printed in India ink after Sir Joshua Reynolds of Banks returned from the Endeavour voyage c. 1774 (long term loan), an engraved portrait by William Daniell (1811) after George Dance (1803) (EB2002/2) and a stipple engraving by Cardon after Sir Thomas Lawrence RA (1810, EB72/2). This caricature is an important counterpart to the other engraved portraits, reflecting similar technical advances in the manufacture of printing plates, etching and engraving. It demonstrates themes of portraiture such as composition, social class and status, politics, props illustrating attributes of the sitter incorporated in portraits, patronage versus a popular market. Of interest is a caricature portrait of Alexander Macleay, 1843 reproduced in Elizabeth Bay House: a history and guide. p. 5.
Accession number
EB2007/14
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