Lot 4P
A plaited lock of Admiral Lord Nelson's hair, mounted in a gold-backed brooch,
26 May 2020, 14:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £10,062.50 inc. premium
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A plaited lock of Admiral Lord Nelson's hair, mounted in a gold-backed brooch,
inlaid with 20 small turquoise stones around the border, in a small white enamel box with lid lettered 'A Token of Regard'. Together with a handwritten note, A locett of the hare of Lord Nelson gived to my husband by Admirel Hardy for his loyal service. Jane Long, W Millton; accompanied by a section of oak with brass framed note "Piece of HMS Victory 1856" and a number of press cuttings from 2005, the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, reporting on the history and rediscovery of this brooch,
1.5cm x 1.7cm (.59 x .67in)
1.5cm x 1.7cm (.59 x .67in)
Footnotes
Provenance
Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy (1769-1839)
Given to one of Hardy's servants and later returned to the Hardy family.
Thence by decent to Rodney Legg (1947-2011) a distant relative of the Hardy family, a campaigner and an author of 125 books on the history and landscape of Dorset, and chairman of the Open Space Society.
Thence by direct decent to the present owner.
Nelson's pigtail (or queue), on permanent exhibition at the Maritime Museum, Greenwich, was cut off after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar 21 October 1805.
It was Nelson's dying wish that this lock of hair should be delivered to Lady Emma Hamilton and that the British government would see that Emma and their child would be looked after in a manner fit for their station in life. Sadly for Emma and Horatia, the government would offer no support and Emma would run up truly huge debts after Nelson's death. Eventually, she ended up in prison for debt and died shortly afterwards.
The pigtail at Greenwich shows his sandy-coloured hair, bound with black ribbon, which is tied in a bow. Surgeon William Beatty records in his 'Narrative of the Death of Lord Nelson' that Nelson asked that Lady Hamilton should have his hair.
Small locks of hair were given to relations and close friends, and some pieces were mounted in special mourning rings and lockets.
West Milton referred to on the hand-written note is a village located in West Dorset relatively close to the Hardy family estate in Portersham.