Sir Hans Sloane, Bt

Inscriptionback to top

Signed and dated on the drawing, bottom left: Stepⁿ. Slaughter/Pinx^t. 1736.

This portraitback to top

The diagram of the Lagetta or lace bark, formerly used as a substitute for lace in Jamaica, is from the drawing by E. Kickius in Voyage to the Islands of Madera ... . [1]
The original is in the Sloane Herbarium, Natural History Museum. [2] The armchair, presumably representing the Royal Society's presidential chair, does not correspond with any known example. [3]
A head and shoulders copy of NPG 569 is in the board room of the Natural History Museum.

Footnotesback to top

1) Vol. II, table 168.
2) Engraved by Van der Gucht; British Museum (Nat. Hist.) The Sloane Herbarium, 1958, p 204.
3) J. R. Fawcett Thompson and F. Gordon Roe, 'Some Oil Portraits in the British Museum', Connoisseur, CXLVII, 1961, p 114.

Physical descriptionback to top

Dark blue-grey eyes, heavy lids, arched dark eyebrows, a pimple on his left cheek, double chin, full-bottom wig; long white lace cravat with round (silver?) pendants, white wrist ruffles, brown velvet coat; green-backed chair surmounted by arms and motto NVLLIVS IN VERBA of the Royal Society, in his left hand a botanical drawing partially unrolled and lettered down the right Fig. 3./Fig.1./Fig.1.2.3./Lagetto; on a table, right, the presidential mace and, in a niche behind, statue of the Ephesian Diana.

Conservationback to top

Varnish yellowed, paint flattened in old relining; pin holes in corners.

Provenanceback to top

Transferred, 1879, from the British Museum (formerly Montagu House [1]), possibly acquired with Sloane's collections in 1754.

1) Purchased by the trustees, 1753, opened as a museum 1759 and demolished c.1850, H. M. Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1954.

Exhibitionsback to top

'Portraits of Early Fellows', Royal Society, 1960; 'The Heritage from Newton and Linnaeus', Stockholm, 1962 (15).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Kerslake, Early Georgian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1977, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

View all known portraits for Sir Hans Sloane, Bt