1554

Original engraved portrait of Sir Francis Drake, from Houbraken’s The Heads of Illustrious

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Non-wreck Artifacts Start Price:125.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 375.00 USD
Original engraved portrait of Sir Francis Drake, from Houbraken’s The Heads of Illustrious
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Original engraved portrait of Sir Francis Drake, from Houbraken’s The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain (London, 1743–1752), published by Knapton. 8½" x 14". Engraved copperplate portrait of Sir Francis Drake, England’s most famous navigator, explorer, and privateer, best remembered for his circumnavigation of the globe in 1577–1580 and his role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. This engraving is from Jacobus Houbraken’s monumental series The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, produced in London over nearly a decade and issued in installments by the publishers John and Paul Knapton. The series, comprising some of the finest engraved portraits of the eighteenth century, was intended to celebrate Britain’s great leaders, scholars, and heroes.

Houbraken’s work is distinguished by its meticulous line engraving, capturing both the likeness and the gravitas of its subjects. The Drake plate shows him in armor with decorative border and cartouche, a classic Baroque representation that enhanced his reputation as a naval commander and symbol of English power. Examples of this portrait are highly prized both as historical art and as artifacts of Britain’s self-image during the mid-eighteenth century, when the empire was consciously linking its present successes to the achievements of Tudor and Stuart figures.

This piece is an original eighteenth-century impression, not a later reprint, making it a significant collector’s item for both maritime and portraiture enthusiasts.