BILLIARDS

Date1780

After work by Henry William Bunbury 1750 - 1811

Maker Thomas Watson (1743-1781)

Maker William Dickinson

Publisher Thomas Watson and William Dickinson

OriginEngland, London

MediumEtching and aquatint with stipple and line engraving with hand coloring

DimensionsOther (Plate): 11 3/4 × 15 1/4in. (11 3/4 × 15 1/4in.)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1950-709

DescriptionUpper left corner reads: "4"
Lower margin reads: "H. Bunbury Esq.r Delin.t/ Watson & Dickinson Execud/ London, Publish'd Nov. 15th 1780 by Watson & Dickinson No 158 New Bond Street"Label TextA game of billiards is being played on a table, one corner of which is only visible , so curiosly elongated that it gives the impression of a triangular table, the one who is about to make a stroke appears from his leannesss, frogged coat, and long pigtail queue to be a Frenchman; he leans over the table in profile to the l., wearing pince-nez. His opponent watches him, standing on tip-toe, his cue held over his l. shoulder, his face screwed up in anxiety; he wears a bag-wig. A number of spectators look on with expressions of amusement or concern: on the right twp men stand together grinning ; on the left a man watches open-mouthed; behind the table a man watches with an expression of alarm, another takes cover behind him with a grim; a small boy stands beside them. In the foreground are two dogs, one, a greyhound, stands between the player's legs. On the wall behind the table is a rack of cues and two clock-faced scoring boards both pointing to the figure X. On the right is a door, on the left a small casement window. Pictures and prints decorate the wall (left to right): a print of Wilkes (bust) with two caps of liberty; a print of a nymph and satyr; a print of a man seated, turned quarter left; a print of a man and woman walking left; two framed landscapes.ProvenanceBefore 1950, the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1950-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).