Lot 100: Philip Jean (British, 1755-1802) John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (1735–1823), wearing blue coat with red collar, white waistcoat, stock and tie

John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (1735–1823), wearing blue coat with red collar, white waistcoat, stock and tie.
Gold frame, the reverse with green glass border around gold-mounted aperture, glazed to reveal crown and initials Sυt V of seed pearls over blond plaited hair.
Oval, 67mm (2 5/8in) high

Jervis joined the Navy in 1749 and was commissioned lieutenant in 1755. He earned a reputation as both a highly professional fighting captain and a disciplinarian during the Seven Years War and the War of American Independence, was knighted in 1782 and promoted rear-admiral in 1787.

A vice-admiral at the start of the French Revolutionary War, he and General Sir Charles Grey captured Martinique and Guadeloupe in 1794. As an admiral, he became commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean in 1795. A good judge of professional character, he ruthlessly weeded out captains and other officers he considered weak in favour of rising stars including Nelson, whom he promoted to commodore. With Admiralty approval he was responsible for detaching Nelson to reconnoitre the Mediterranean early in 1798 and then reinforcing him with the squadron that defeated the French at the Battle of the Nile that August.

In 1801-04 he was a First Lord of the Admiralty under the Addington ministry, in which role his Whig political convictions and obsession with rooting out largely imagined corrupt practices in the dockyards and naval administration nearly brought the Navy to logistical disaster. In 1807 he retired but kept an interest in naval affairs and was much honoured, including with the rank of Admiral of the Fleet from 1821.