Colonel Frederick de la Penotiere, active 1693-1712

An oval head and shoulders miniature in watercolour on vellum, with gum arabic. It is in a slightly damaged brass suspension frame but the inscribed backplate appears to be silver-gilt, at least. The sitter is a young man turned to his left with a plain white neckcloth and only his right shoulder visible, showing he is in armour, and he almost fully fills the image space. His face is turned out towards the viewer and he has long and rather roughly cut brown hair and blue eyes. The backplate is engraved: 'Honble Colonel Fredk De La Penotiere who married Bridget daughter of the Honble Dr John Feilding'. Frederick de la Penotiere was the great-grandfather of Captain John Richards Lapenotiere best known for his role, when lieutenant commanding the schooner 'Pickle', in bringing the news of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar home in 1805. According to Lapenotiere's entry in Marshall's 'Naval Biography', Frederick was the son of a French nobleman. The family were Huguenots and he reportedly came to England with William of Orange, (King William III) in 1688, though possibly with relatives since he must have been very young. Frederick's dress in this miniature suggests a date of about 1700, or two or three years either side at most. The backplate and inscription, and probably the frame, are likely to be later.