Lot 127: John Field (British, 1772-1848) A pair of silhouettes of William Senhouse (1741-1800) and his wife Elizabeth, née Wood (1755-1834): he, profile to the left, wearing coat and pigtail wig; she, profile to the right, wearing gauze ruff and frill-trimmed

A pair of silhouettes of William Senhouse (1741-1800) and his wife Elizabeth, née Wood (1755-1834): he, profile to the left, wearing coat and pigtail wig; she, profile to the right, wearing gauze ruff and frill-trimmed bonnet.
Painted on plaster and bronzed, gilt-mounted rectangular papier-mâché frame, the reverses with broken trade label no.12 ('Double-letter').
Oval, 80mm (3 1/8in) high (2)

William was the son of Humphrey Senhouse and Mary Fleming. He was a Midshipman in the navy from 1755 to 1769, first seeing service in the French and Indian Wars and then stationed at Boston. In 1770 he was appointed to the customs service in the West Indies. From 1771 to 1799 he lived in Barbados except for short visits to other islands and several trips to England. In 1772 he married Mary Samson Wood, daughter and heiress of a well-to-do planter of Barbados. From this union were born eight sons and three daughters.

Through the influence of Sir James Lowther, Senhouse was appointed 'Surveyor General of the Customs' in Barbados and the Windward and Leeward Islands, in charge of collecting the duties levied on the exports of colonial produce. His 'Recollections' are printed under the title 'The autobiographical manuscript of William Senhouse, Surveyor General of His Majesty's Customs – Barbados and the Windward and Leeward Islands from 1770 until 1787' in the Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, II (1934-5).

Part illustrated