AUSTIN & SEELEY, A RARE COMPOSITION STONE FIGURE OF SIR JEFFREY HUDSON

AUSTIN & SEELEY- A RARE COMPOSITION STONE FIGURE OF SIR JEFFREY HUDSON ON PEDESTAL MID/LATE 19TH CENTURY Modelled in the armour of the Holy Roman Emperor 202cm high overall, pedestal 48.5cm square Literature: Nick Page, Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man, HarperCollins, London, 2002. Austin & Seeley, Collection of ornaments at Austin & Seeley's artificial stone works, 1841, illustrated page 9, titled “Sir Geoffrey Hudson”. Jeffrey Hudson (1619- circa 1682) was a servant at the court of Charles I celebrated for his small stature - at the age of 30 he reached a height of 42 or 45 inches. The son of a keeper to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, he was introduced at the age of nine to the Duchess of Buckingham in 1626. The Duchess, in a coup de theatre at a banquet given to Charles I and his young French wife Queen Henrietta Maria, concealed Hudson in a large pie from which he emerged in full armour delighting the young Queen. He entered the service of the Queen and was knighted by the King and gained the nickname “Lord Minimus”. His career at court ended ignobly when he shot and killed the Queen's Master of Horse William Crofts in a duel. Expelled from her court he was later captured by Barbary pirates and spent twenty-five years as a slave in North Africa before returning to England. In 1676 he was accused of involvement in the 'Popish Plot' with Titus Oates and was imprisoned in Gatehouse Prison for four years. A comparable example of this rare figure was sold Christie's London, Quai d'Orsay, Paris - An Apartment by Jacques Grange, 19th November 2010, lot 803 (£16,250 inc. premium). Condition Report Disclaimer, AUSTIN & SEELEY- A RARE COMPOSITION STONE FIGURE OF SIR JEFFREY HUDSON ON PEDESTAL, AUSTIN & SEELEY- A RARE COMPOSITION STONE FIGURE OF SIR JEFFREY HUDSON ON PEDESTAL MID/LATE 19TH CENTURY Modelled in the armour of the Holy Roman Emperor 202cm high overall, pedestal 48.5cm square Literature: Nick Page, Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man, HarperCollins, London, 2002. Austin & Seeley, Collection of ornaments at Austin & Seeley's artificial stone works, 1841, illustrated page 9, titled “Sir Geoffrey Hudson”. Jeffrey Hudson (1619- circa 1682) was a servant at the court of Charles I celebrated for his small stature - at the age of 30 he reached a height of 42 or 45 inches. The son of a keeper to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, he was introduced at the age of nine to the Duchess of Buckingham in 1626. The Duchess, in a coup de theatre at a banquet given to Charles I and his young French wife Queen Henrietta Maria, concealed Hudson in a large pie from which he emerged in full armour delighting the young Queen. He entered the service of the Queen and was knighted by the King and gained the nickname “Lord Minimus”. His career at court ended ignobly when he shot and killed the Queen's Master of Horse William Crofts in a duel. Expelled from her court he was later captured by Barbary pirates and spent twenty-five years as a slave in North Africa before returning to England. In 1676 he was accused of involvement in the 'Popish Plot' with Titus Oates and was imprisoned in Gatehouse Prison for four years. A comparable example of this rare figure was sold Christie's London, Quai d'Orsay, Paris - An Apartment by Jacques Grange, 19th November 2010, lot 803 (£16,250 inc. premium). Literature:, Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man, Condition Report Disclaimer

Estimate:£1,500

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