I have nothing useful to add on the general state of things right now, but I can offer a thread of canine portraits by 18th-century French painter Jean-Jacques Bachelier, who was also director of the famed Sèvres porcelain factory. First up: Mimi, the favorite dog of Madame de Pompadour, 1762

Johann Heinrich Füssli/Henry Fuseli, Priam Begging Achilles for the Body of Hector (c1770-71), at Christie's, Paris (est. €200,000-300,000) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Jean-Antoine Watteau, Fêtes Vénitiennes (1719); many have noted the melancholy that lurks beneath the surface of his paintings, like Walter Pater in the 19th century: “He was always a seeker after something in the world that is there in no satisfying measure, or not at all.”

A circa 1783 Sèvres small porcelain coffee cup (gobelet litron, 4th size) decorated with interlaced gilt laurel leaves surrounding two blue lines and with vertically-placed flower bud decoration along the sides. "Espresso"-sized. And it looks like spring is finally here. (see ALT)

The Biblioteca Palatina established by Maria Carolina of Austria (1752-1814), queen of Naples. Reggia di Caserta. The terms of MC’s marriage agreement were that she could join the privy council when she had a male heir. She did this in 1775 and subsequently became de facto ruler of Naples.

Clay Stories: A Ceramics Symposium enfilade18thc.com/2026/04/02/c...

Appeal launched to acquire South East View of Strawberry Hill by Johann Heinrich Müntz (c1755-58) #c18 #c18th #18thc @strawbhillhouse.bsky.social www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk/muntz-strawb...

Extracurricular. A plan of Mr. Pope's garden, as it was left at his death: with a plan and perspective view of the grotto. All taken by J. Serle, his gardener. London, England: printed for R. Dodsley, at Tully's Head in Pall-Mall, [1745] ECCO link-gale-com.eux.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CW0....

Took a stroll around Prior Park this morning & saw three deer running beneath the college buildings - not much changed since Francis Lockey photographed them in the 1850s, producing the calotype images I discussed in my PhD thesis

Late #c18 #c18th #18thc shoe buckles with glass paste ‘gemstones’ and original case, Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto

Brooch of Empress Catherine II, Russia, c. 1750-70. Rubies, diamonds, gold, silver, enamel, Victoria and Albert Museum, M.85-1951. Cory Bequest © Victoria and Albert Museum, London ‘Dynastic Jewels’, until 6 April 2026 at The Al Thani Collection, Hôtel de la Marine, Paris.

Coming to our Reading Room gallery, April 9 to 26: Tristram Shandy, The First Modern Book, curated by @debbiemillman.bsky.social. Learn more and plan your visit: letterformarchive.org/visit/#on-view

Top: me, gin and tonic in hand in #Lecce, #Puglia. Bottom: Thomas Jones (1742-1803) in #Naples. I suspect Thomas was G&T-less.

Tin-glazed earthenware shoes (Bristol, 1768), Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto #c18 #c18th #18thc

An Eruption of Vesuvius, seen from Portici https://www.wikiart.org/en/joseph-wright/an-eruption-of-vesuvius-seen-from-portici

Silver wine beaker (Russia, 1792), with Nelson & Nelson, NYC. #c18 #c18th #18thc

Congratulations to IASSL member Rob Sutton who has just defended his PhD thesis on '"Cultural Jacobitism" in the Writing of Anne Grant (1755-1838)' at @ljmuofficial.bsky.social. The dissertation is available in open access: researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28...

A circa 1756 Sèvres green ground ewer and basin in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, in Paris. Rococo lavishness bordering on science fiction. And a circa 1757 silver version of the same pairing also in the Musée. It was the "bathroom sink" of the time and made of silver and later ceramic. (ALT)

The Louvre has acquired, through its right of pre-emption, two paintings by Hubert Robert from the sale of the Veil-Picard collection at Christie’s: Le Déjeuner de Madame Geoffrin and Un Artiste présente un tableau à Madame Geoffrin #c18 #c18th #18thc

In time for April Fool's Day, which may be apt, my article on Gothic fiction and #18thc hoaxing has appeared in Novel, in a banger of an issue on Belief in Fiction, co-ed by @danielhack.bsky.social & Rachel Ablow. Take a look at this exciting t.o.c. I'm grateful to be in such great company.

This long (nearly 30 cm/12 in) silver meat skewer (London, 1785) was intended to hold the beef together while you carved it, but would make an excellent (defensive) weapon. I keep it handy ... #c18 #c18th #18thc

18th-century artist Giuseppe Bonito painted this rare (if not unique) portrait of a "femminiello," a distinctly Neapolitan figure who cross-dressed from an early age and was accepted as a “third sex” in Naples' poorest neighborhoods. More at the link. #TransDayOfVisibility

Bonbonnière with gold mounts and multicoloured glass aventurine glass top (Paris, 1782-89), at Christie’s, Paris (est. €3,00-5,000) #c18 #c18th #18thc

And another reason to be in Paris madparis.fr/Une-journee-... #c18 #c18th #18thc

A good reason to be in Paris www.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr/fr/expositio... #c18 #c18th #18thc

Philippine Charlotte von Preußen, 1770, by #BarbaraRosinaDeGasc (née Lisiewska, sometimes called #AnnaRosinaDeGasc; German, 1713-1783) who died #otd, Mar 26. Held by Stiftung Preußische Schlösser & Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, brandenburg.museum-digital.de/object/47523 #artherstory #womenartists

Replica of the diamond necklace (1772-74) that Queen Marie-Antoinette did _not_ buy, but which sank her reputation. In the V&A’s Marie Antoinette Style exhibition with Sutherland and Anglesey pieces containing stones from the original #c18 #c18th #18thc

Some nice (and completely unexpected) news. Thank you to whoever nominated the book 🙏

Silver teapot with the mark of (the overrated - see the alt text) Hester Bateman (London, 1788), with Nelson & Nelson, NYC #c18 #c18th #18thc

Now available in paperback! The Life and Work of Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757) The Queen of Pastel By Angela Oberer www.routledge.com/The-Life-and...

This drawing from March 1787 shows Mrs. Abington, née Frances Barton (1737-1815), as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. She was a Covent Garden flower girl, a maid and a ballad singer before making her debut on stage in 1755. #ShakespeareWeek #WomensHistoryMonth #theatre

If only travel to the Untidy States were not off-limits for me (for obvious reasons I shall not mention): Gainsborough and 'The Fashion of Portraiture' at the Frick in NYC www.frick.org/exhibitions/... #c18 #c18th #18thc

Satirical medal (1716) on the repeated failures of the #Jacobite claimant to regain his ancestral thrones (1708 and 1715; more lay ahead), at Spink (est. £1,500-2,000) The Latin is catty: see the alt #c18 #c18th #18thc

Q: what is the most Tragical TRAGEDY that was ever tragedized by any comical Company of Tragical TRAGEDIANS? A:

Custard cup with cover, hunting horn mark on the base (Chantilly, c1750) #c18 #c18th #18thc

Tiny Wedgwood & Bentley portrait of Alexander Pope (c1770), perhaps intended to be mounted on a ring #c18 #c18th #18thc

Spring / Frühling 🎨 Robert Dighton 1751-1814 #kunst #art

Three eldest children of Charles I: Charles, Mary, James. Painted in 1635 by Anthony van Dyck, born OTD 1599. Dad was irritated that son & heir was still shown in long skirts. Unmanly!

James McArdell after Alan Ramsay, Flora Macdonald (c1765), with Grosvernor Prints, London #Jacobite #c18 #c18th #18thc

Cheering myself up with Rex Whistler's costume designs for a 1936 theatrical adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. (I would *much* rather time-travel back 90 years to watch that play than watch the upcoming Netflix adaptation.) Here's Whistler's smirking Mrs. Bennet: I LOVE her.

It’s been out a while now, but Rosemary Sweet and I have written a book about #18thcentury British travel to Spain and Portugal that is free to download here! uclpress.co.uk/book/no-coun...

Carnelian intaglio depicting the departure of Hector (Italian, #c18 #c18th #18thc), with Matthew Holder, London

To accompany the Frick Collection's Gainsborough exhibition (The Fashion of Portraiture), here's quick look at how fashion in frames, as much as in dress, altered through the course of the artist's career... ...and see : theframeblog.com/2021/02/10/t...

Carved wood lion mask mount (English, #c18 #c18th #18thc), with Matthew Holder, London

Broadsides were once the most prevalent printed materials, serving as single-page carriers of news, propaganda, entertainment, and ads. Guildhall Library has a large collection, including a 1760 piece on James Miller's victories (BSIDE 25.9). Explore more broadsides in our catalogue!

It is lovely that the Art Gallery of Ontario can now name the Black woman in the gorgeous #18thc portrait they acquired 6 yrs ago & also date the painting. It's from 1775. She is Eleonora Susette, enslaved by the Dutch governor of Guyana, accompanying his widow on her return to the Netherlands.

Books by the pound! Printer’s device of Claude Carteron of Lyon (1644-1716). “The Carterons make the books”.

Rose-cut diamond and black enamel ring in high-carat gold with silver collets (western Europe, late 17C or early #c18 #c18th #18thc), with Matthew Holder, London

Chaise à porteurs à décor de chinoiseries en laque rouge du XVIIIème siècle dans la salle d'armes du château de Cheverny.

Set of silver candlesticks by William Abdy (London, 1779), with Nelson & Nelson, NYC #c18 #c18th #18thc