“Interior, the Prince of Wales standing to left wearing chain and badge of the garter, right hand poised to put the ring on the finger of Princess Caroline Amelia, who kneels with hands crossed over her breast to right, a minister blessing them to right, an open book on a cushion in front of him, George III and Queen Charlotte seated in the background to left.”–British Museum online catalogue.
- Title: The marriage ceremony of the Prince and Princess of Wales [graphic] : perform’d by the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the Chapel Royal, April 8th, 1795.
- Edition: [State 2].
- Publication: [London] : Publish’d May 16th, 1795, by John Fairburn, No. 146, Minories, London, [16 May 1795]
795.05.16.01
Acquired November 2022
A copy in reverse of William Hogarth’s Plate 6 of A harlot’s progress: A dilapidated room with Moll Hackabout’s friends, mostly prostitutes, gathered around her open coffin, several of them weeping; one young woman stands with her back to the scene as she gazes at herself in the mirror. On the right, a clergyman spills his brandy as he surreptitiously gropes beneath a woman’s skirt; Moll’s serving woman, standing at the coffin with a wine bottle and glass in hand scowls at the pair. Under the window and to the left, the undertaker flirts with a pretty young prostitute who picks a handkerchief from his pocket. In the foreground Moll’s small son plays with a spinning top. Sprigs of yew (rosemary?) decorate her coffin; a plate of yew rests on the floor at the parson’s feet, another spring at her son’s feet.
A copy in reverse of William Hogarth’s Plate 2 of A harlot’s progress: Mary Hackabout (left), now a harlot and mistress of a wealthy London Jew, exposes her breast and kicks over a tea table to divert his attention from the presence of her younger lover who hides behind the door of the room with her maid servant. A monkey and young black servant boy in a feathered turban look on the scene with frighten expressions. The mask and mirror in the lower left corner and the paintings of scenes from the Old Testament (Jonah IV.8 and 2 Samuel VI.1-5) hanging on the wall further amplify the artist’s moral message.