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Lot 60W

Francis Holman
(British, 1729-1790)
The London merchantman Adamant in three positions off the coast, probably the Thames estuary

7 October 2015, 14:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £11,250 inc. premium

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Francis Holman (British, 1729-1790)

The London merchantman Adamant in three positions off the coast, probably the Thames estuary
signed 'F. Holman' and dated 1783 (lower left)
oil on canvas
63.5 x 127cm (25 x 50in).

Footnotes

Provenance
with Royal Exchange Gallery
J. W. Robertson Esq.(bought from the above, 1998)

Noted quaintly as having been built "on the river" [i.e. the Thames] in 1774 and measured at 320 tons burden, Adamant was owned by Watson & Co. who employed her in the lucrative Canada trade under her first master Captain Charles Wyatt. He sailed her regularly to Quebec and Halifax (Nova Scotia) until she was sold to Blakes & Co. in 1786 who replaced Captain Wyatt at the same time. Thereafter she traded to Tortola, in the West Indian Virgin Islands, probably for sugar, rum and molasses, until disappearing from record after 1790. Latterly, Lloyd's Registers note her deteriorating condition which is suggestive that, by then, she was no longer seaworthy.

Additional information

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