"Satire on George II and Robert Walpole, based on a "Visio"n described in "Commonsense, or the Englishman's Journal", 19 March 1737. The king is represented as a satyr, seen from the rear, standing on an altar kicking his left leg and breaking wind; Queen Caroline, as a priestess wearing a bell on her wrist, approaches from the right to administer an enema of "Aurum potabile" (a flavoured brandy); Bishop Hoadly stands behind her followed by men carrying on their heads vessels of gold, several of which have been deposited at the foot of the altar, square pieces of gold having spilled from one. On the left; Robert Walpole dressed as the Chief Magician, dressed in a coat embroidered with dragons and the words "Auri Sacra fames" and carrying a rod, looks up at the satyr; behind him is a procession of couriters with the insignia of the golden rump embroidered on their shoulders; in the foreground Walpole's brother Horatio Walpole holds out a pair of scales, an allusion to his concern to preserve the balance of power in Europe which earned him the nickname, the "Balance Master". A curtain hanging across the top is embroidered with golden rumps."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title engraved above image., Printmaker identified as Gerard Van der Gucht by Mark Hallett in Caricature in the age of Hogarth, see p. 137., Design on which this print is based, was attributed to the Earl of Chesterfield by the curator., "Price 1s."--Lower right corner., and Several subjects identified in a later hand below image.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
George II, King of Great Britain, 1683-1760, Caroline, Queen, consort of George II, King of Great Britain, 1683-1737, Walpole, Robert, Earl of Orford, 1676-1745, Walpole, Horatio Walpole, Baron, 1678-1757, Hoadly, Benjamin, 1676-1761, Fielding, Henry, 1707-1754, and Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of, 1694-1773
Subject (Topic):
Politics and government, Bribery, Corruption, Medical procedures & techniques, and Theaters