The Widow & The Black Ram.
[n.d., c.1820.]
Coloured aquatint. Sheet 100 x 115mm (4 x 4½"). Trimmed. Remains of map verso.
A widow rides a black ram into a court full of laughing lawyers. An illustration of a ancient manorial custom in parts of England, relating to 'free bench', the widow's right to retain tenure of her late husband's land. This was usually allowed as long as she preserved her chastity. If she strayed she would lose the proprty but could avoid this by the penance of riding the ram into court, reciting a verse beginning 'Here I am, / Riding upon a black ram, / Like a whore as I am'. During the trial of Queen Caroline in 1820, Theodore Lane depicted her entering the House of Lords on a black ram with the face of her supposed lover, Bartolommeo Bergami (BM Satires 14013).
[Ref: 62238] £95.00
Coloured aquatint. Sheet 100 x 115mm (4 x 4½"). Trimmed. Remains of map verso.
A widow rides a black ram into a court full of laughing lawyers. An illustration of a ancient manorial custom in parts of England, relating to 'free bench', the widow's right to retain tenure of her late husband's land. This was usually allowed as long as she preserved her chastity. If she strayed she would lose the proprty but could avoid this by the penance of riding the ram into court, reciting a verse beginning 'Here I am, / Riding upon a black ram, / Like a whore as I am'. During the trial of Queen Caroline in 1820, Theodore Lane depicted her entering the House of Lords on a black ram with the face of her supposed lover, Bartolommeo Bergami (BM Satires 14013).
[Ref: 62238] £95.00