Lot 15: PETRUS WEYTS (FLEMISH, 1799-1855) Amelia of Dundee signed and insc

PETRUS WEYTS (FLEMISH, 1799-1855) Amelia of Dundee signed and inscribed ‘P: WEYTS. ANTWERP’ (lower right) and also inscribed and dated ‘AMELIA OF DUNDEE. ROBERT. LAW. MASTER. 1840.’ (lower centre) reverse oil on glass 52.7 x 69.2cm (20 3/4 x 27 1/4in).

The snow Amelia was built in Dundee in 1835. Registered at 244 tons and owned by J Bell of Dundee she traded to South America under Captain Law. Petrus Weyts lived and worked in Antwerp, and was renowned for his portraits of ships on glass. Both his brother and his son worked in his workshop, specialising in this skill, gaining great popularity amongst traders in the busy port of Antwerp. Upon the death of his son in 1875, the practice of glass painting would disappear from the city.