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1 of 253523 objects
William Sommers c.1621-1622
Engraving | 21.4 x 11.5 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 680634

Francis Delaram (1590-1627)
William Sommers c.1621-1622
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An engraving of William Sommers (d. 1559), court jester to Henry VIII. Full length portrait, wearing a hat with feathers, a spotted gown with the initials 'H.R.' on front, holding a horn in his right hand. In the background there are street scenes (such as man on slits, flying kite, children playing games). This print is lettered across the top: "Will Sommers Kinge Heneryes Jester"; below the portrait: "Are to be sould by Thomas Ienner at the whit beare in Cornewell. Fran:s Del: Scul:; // What though thou thinkst mee clad in strange attire? … // … As both the Name, and Tyme and Habit doe".
The print formed part of an album of portrait prints assembled by Cassiano and his younger brother Carlo Antonio dal Pozzo in Rome. Described in an early nineteenth-century inventory of prints in George III's library as Heads of English illustrious Personages, the album was dismantled later in the nineteenth century and incorporated into the sequences of British portrait prints in the collection.For more information see Mark McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. I: Ceremonies, Costumes, Portraits and Genre, 3 vols, Royal Collection Trust 2017, part of The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo: A Catalogue Raisonné, cat. no. 1460.
Provenance
From the collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-22 October 1657); inherited by his brother, Carlo Antonio dal Pozzo (1606-1689); sold by Carlo Antonio's grandson to Clement XI, 1703; acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Albani by 1714, from whom purchased by George III in 1762
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Creator(s)
(engraver)(collector)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Engraving
Measurements
21.4 x 11.5 cm (sheet of paper)
Category
Object type(s)