Object Details
From:NHerts
Name/TitleJoseph Sharples and Eliza Peckover drawings
About this objectPen drawing in brown ink on white paper. One drawing has a title ‘Parental Instruction on the Slippery Path’. On this work written on the brown paper that the drawing is attached to is the identification that the male figure is that Joseph Sharples, a local banker, and his daughter Eliza Peckover.
In the undated scene, the artist Samuel Lucas Senior captures Joseph Sharples pointing a stick towards the knees of his daughter, she too holds a stick which she holds to the ice.
The two wear ice skates which are pointed at the front. The trail in a circle around Eliza leads to Joseph and indicates he has just skated around his daughter as part of his instruction. In the foreground the two have left items on the side of the icy ornamental pond. One of which may be a basket and the other two are perhaps boots.
On the right are two arches of a small ornamental bridge, identifying the setting as St Ippollitts Brook (at TL 19577 26880). It was built about 1801 for the Rev William Lax, who created a park at St Ibbs. On either side of Joseph and Eliza are trees.
The second image shows the pair skating in a different location (at TL 18447 29575). Here Joseph and Eliza are dark silhouettes. Text beneath this version of the scene goes further into the context. It reads ‘Joseph Sharples & his daughter Eliza Peckover at the Woodlands, Bancroft, Hitchin’.
From this angle the viewer can see that the two are skating on a rectangular pond. Both still hold sticks and on the side between the skaters and the artist are three objects. One a basket or bag and the other two are perhaps shovels. Across the background of this work are trees and in the foreground the footprints of Joseph and Eliza are left in the snow leading to the objects they have placed down before entering the ice.
MakerSamuel Lucas senior
Maker RoleArtist
Period19th Century (1801-1900)
Medium and MaterialsInk on paper
Inscription and MarksImage one: "Parental Instruction on the Slippery Path"
"Joseph Sharples & his daughter Eliza Peckover"
Image two: "Joseph Sharples & his daughter Eliza Peckover at the Woodlands, Bancroft, Hitchin.
Measurements88x109
Named CollectionHitchin Museum
Object TypeDrawing
Object number247/243
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved