print;
satirical print
- Museum number
- 1935,0522.13.38
- Title
- Object: The modern Fox chace - or the Fox chacing the hounds. 1784
- Description
-
The King (left) stands, arms extended, a trowel in his right hand, watching a fox immediately in front of him which is leaping across a pit, representing Pitt, and chasing the king's hounds (right); he shouts "My hounds, my Pit! my Temple!" The fox (Charles Fox) has a ribbon across his body inscribed 'Liberty'. His leap has shattered a small rectangular temple (left) with Ionic columns, inscribed 'Temple of Secret influence'. Within the temple hangs the lantern which symbolizes the conspiratorial influence of Temple, see BMSat 6438. Similar lanterns hang from the collars of the king's hounds who represent the Ministers. Another lantern, on which the fox is urinating, is within the pit. A spade, which appears to have been just dropped by the startled king, falls into the pit, which is inscribed 'Vanity pit'. In the fox's mouth is a garment, perhaps just torn from one of the king's hounds, which turns its head to snarl; it wears a judge's wig and is probably intended for Thurlow. Two of the pack are coupled with a chain, one lies on its back on the edge of the pit, overthrown by Fox. On a raised and sloping platform, inscribed 'Treasurery [sic] Bench', close to the pit, four hounds, on a smaller scale than the others, instead of fleeing before the fox, stand barking at him. A bird flies (left to right) above the dogs; a label issuing from its mouth is inscribed "Coalition, infamous Coalition".
By the fox's forelegs is the base of a falling pillar which he has overthrown in his leaping chase and which had stood in the pit; it is inscribed '[Monument] to Eastern Tyranny'. The figure of a naked man inscribed 'Injustice' falls from its summit; he holds a sword in his left hand, in his right is a pair of uneven scales, in one of which he puts his left foot. The capital of the pillar is decorated with a sword and a club crossed; a lantern hangs from it by a rope.
On the extreme left the profile and hand of Lord North appear; he holds a flag inscribed 'Boreas' and blows a blast which propels the fox on his chase after the hounds. The king wears a crown and the star of the Garter. c. Feb. 1784
Etching
- Production date
- 1784
- Dimensions
-
Height: 184 millimetres
-
Width: 363 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- (Description and comment from M.Dorothy George, 'Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum', VI, 1938)
This plate was probably etched when the supporters of Fox and North were confident that they would shortly overthrow Pitt's Ministry, based, as they maintained, on the secret manoeuvres of Temple and the vanity of Pitt, and relying on the parrot-cry of 'infamous Coalition' (see BMSat 6176-9, 1 &c.). For the contest see BMSat 6373, &c, for 'secret influence' BMSat 6417, &c.
Collection, No. 38.
In an album of Kay's work, apparently assembled by the artist: see 1935,0522.13.1
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1935
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1935,0522.13.38