Antique Victorian Lithograph Portrait of Sir John Francis Davis | With Family Providence

A fascinating Victorian lithographic portrait of Sir John Francis Davis, 1st Baronet and British diplomat, writer and sinologist who served as the second Governor of Hong Kong from 1844 to 1848. Pictured a little later in his life, Davis is seen wearing the breast star of a Knight Commander of the Order, an honour he was awarded in 1854. The portrait is believed to date from between 1880-1900, and was done by C. W. Walton, a well-known British lithographic artist from that era. 

Most interesting is the family providence of the piece. There is a family tree added to the back tracing descendancy from Sir John Davis to his daughter Florence and then eventually to Bryony Estcourt. Noel Estcourt, a famous rugby player and cricketer, passed in 2019, and was known to carefully archive his family history. It's safe to assume this family tree was added by him at some time. And while it is copy and not a unique painting, the family connection adds an extra bit of intrigue to this relic if British colonial history.

Presented beneath glass in an oval walnut-effect frame with a gilt slip and cream mount. The reverse retains a typed biography and family lineage, together with the label of Holmdale Studios Gallery of Exeter, which appears to have undertaken the later framing.

Size: 11.5" x 9" / 29 x 23 cm

Condition:

The portrait remains in good antique condition, with some light age-related wear to the frame and mount. We have not examined the work outside of its frame. The original lower margin appears to have been trimmed when the portrait was later reframed. Fragments carrying the Walton credit, part of the publisher’s details and a “J. F. Davis” signature were carefully retained on the reverse. The signature may be a printed facsimile and is not described as hand-signed.