27th Apr, 2010 0:00
THE COUNTRY HOUSE SALE
658
▲ Andrew McIlwraith (fl.1715-1753)
PORTRAIT OF JAMES KER OF BUGHTRIG (1700-1768), HALF LENGTH, in a blue coat, white stock and fur-trimmed cloak,
Signed 'And:McIlwraith Pinxt' and dated 1754 verso, also inscribed 'Ja:Ker Esq Conveener/ Member of Leith Races. He retired from business in 1763, having customers such as the Duke of Gordon, the Earl of Breadalbane, Lady Grisell Baille, the Marquis of Lothian and, of course, several generations of the Hopetoun family. He died on 24th January 1768 in his house at Drumsheugh, just outside Edinburgh. Parliament for Edinburgh / 1754',
oil on canvas, painted oval
77 x 63.5cm
The portrait is most probably a contemporary copy of a picture by Allan Ramsey in the National Gallery of Scotland.
James Ker was without doubt one of the most talented and important goldsmiths in 18th Century Edinburgh, and dominated the craft both technically and politically throughout the middle years of the century. He was the only craftsman in the 18th Century to represent Edinburgh at Westminster - remarkable for a task reserved for members of the city's merchant elite.
Ker, was son of Thomas Ker, the Edinburgh goldsmith, born to him and his wife Margaret on 14th September 1700. The family was related to the aristocratic house of Ker, Marquesses of Lothian, and shows another example of younger sons of gentry going into the socially acceptable trade of the goldsmith. James was apprenticed to his father at the age of 8 on 12th July 1709, the same year his father was elected deacon of the Incorporation. He undoubtedly prospered, as many items survive of his craft. In 1736, he bought the estate of Bughtrigg near Jedburgh in the borders for £1500.
He married, firstly, Jane Thompson in 1725, who died in 1746, and subsequently Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Charles Kerr of Cramond, brother of the 2nd Marquis of Lothian. See lot 657, the previous lot.
He was prominent in the affairs of the Incorporation and the city, serving as deacon and town councillor on numerous occasions. Politically he was a Whig. In the chaos of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, the members of the Town Council, who elected the city's single Westminster member of parliament, chose Ker as their MP. His hold on office could not last and, at the elections of 1754, the Edinburgh merchants closed ranks and he was defeated. During his tenure as MP, he entered into partnership with his erstwhile apprentice, William Dempster. They were responsible for the four surviving gold King's Prizes for
Sold for £2,800
Condition Report
Vendor has had car for 40 years and has not had it running in that time. He tried to run it over with a starting handle recently but it would not turn and may be seized
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Auction: THE COUNTRY HOUSE SALE, 27th Apr, 2010
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27APR10 - STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET - BAND
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