Lot 211: David des Granges (British, 1611/13-1671/2)

King Charles II of England (1630-1685), wearing the blue sash of the Garter, his silver armour breastplate over ochre doublet, the sleeves embroidered, white lawn collar with tassel fastening, gold border
watercolour on vellum stuck down on pasteboard, signed with initials and dated, D^DG 1654, set into a fishskin travelling case with silver hinge
Oval, 70mm. (2 3/4ins.) high

The present lot is one of a number of images commissioned by Charles II from des Granges circa 1651 (the date he was appointed His Majesty's Limner). There is another version of the present lot in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (signed and dated 1650) and a further example was sold in these rooms, 24 June 2004, lot 42. In 1654, the date of the present lot, the Anglo-French negotiations had forced Charles into exile in Germany from France, where he remained until his move to the Spanish Netherlands in 1656.