Oval, enamel, in a gold frame, 4.8cm. The reverse engraved: ‘Brownlow/ Earl of Exeter’.
This miniature was painted in 1725, a year after the Earl’s marriage to Hannah Sophia, the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Chambers, a wealthy copper founder of Derby.
The marriage restored the family fortunes, much depleted by the extravagant collecting of the Earl’s grandparents, the 5th Earl and Countess, during four Grand Tours in the latter part of the 17th Century.
The earl himself proved to be an enthusiastic collector, particularly of Meissen porcelain.
Zincke, who was born in Germany, moved to England as a young man to work in the studio of the Swedish enamellist Charles Boit (1662-1727).
When Boit moved to France some years later, Zincke inherited his many fashionable clients and in due course, became the most successful enamellist of his time.
