VHP 000-000-000-413-L

Copy (?1694-1698) of a list of pictures probably belonging to Bartolomeo della Nave offered for sale about 1636 to Basil, Viscount Feilding, acting on behalf of James 3rd Marquis, 1st Duke of Hamilton and intended for selection by Charles 1.

A list of 224 paintings for sale from the famous Venetian collection of Bartolommeo della Nave, 200 of which were acquired by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. Many of these passed together via the Imperial Collections directly into the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and can still be seen there today.

The 1st Duke of Hamilton hoped to advance his position at the court of Charles 1 by demonstrating an interest in picture collecting imitating the king and competing with political rivals. To this end he corresponded and instructed his brother-in-law, Basil, Lord Feilding, who in 1634 became English ambassador to the republic of Venice, to acquire three outstanding Venetian collections that became available for sale. These were the Bartolommeo della Nave collection, the subject of this inventory and two other collections, one belonging to the Procurator Michiel Priuli the other to Nicholas Regnier, a Flemish painter and dealer. Much of the correspondence between Feilding and Hamilton survives and gives a very detailed account of these transactions based in Venice.

The della Nave collection attracted attention from some of the most important collectors of the time such as Charles 1 and the Duke of Arundel. Having seen a list of the della Nave collection the king instructed Hamilton to acquire it for himself allowing the king to pick and choose from the collection when it arrived in England. It has been suggested that this list (M4/10) is the list that initially attracted the King's attention. In the event the Regnier collection (in 1637), this collection and Pruili collections were all successfully acquired and shipped to England by May 1638 arriving in 1639. By the summer of 1637 Charles had transferred his financial support from a consortium of buyers to Hamilton's enterprise. When the pictures arrived in this country however, for a number of reasons, the King never acquired a share of the collection, no doubt pre-occupied with the invasion of Scotland in 1639 with Hamilton his commander. In 1640 the king was unable to obtain money from parliament and he never again spent large sums of money on pictures. This left all the rapidly acquired collection in Hamilton's possession and its size and magnificence are reflected in the inventories of c.1643 (See Pathfinder M4/21).

The writing on this inventory appears to be that of David Crawford, secretary to the 3rd Duke and Duchess of Hamilton and would indicate that this is a copy for their son James 4th Duke of Hamilton whose writing has been identified in the margins. The notes in the margins reveal that this copy was probably made between 1694 and 1698. The reference to D.Devon, (The Duke of Devonshire) on page 1 entry32 indicates a date after 1694. (The Earl of Devonshire was only elevated to the Dukedom in 1694). Whitehall Palace was no longer in existence after 1698, destroyed by fire, with reference to a picture there on page1 entry 29.

• E.K.Waterhouse, Italian Studies 'Paintings from Venice for seventeenth-century England: Some records of a forgotten transaction' volvii, 1952, p.5-7
• Paul Shakeshaft, Burlington Magazine, "To Much Bewiched with Thoes intysing things": The letters of James, Third Marquis of Hamilton and Basil, Viscount Feilding, concerning Collecting in Venice 1635-1639", February 1986, cxxviii, 995, p78+114-134