拍品专文
This is a previously unrecorded example of a smallsword made by the distinguished London goldsmith James Morisset (1738-1815), who specialized in British presentation swords, sabers, Freedom and snuff boxes of enameled gold. At least seventy of his marked products survive, most of them created as awards to military and especially navel heroes of the French wars that were presented by the City of London, the Honourable East India Company, and various committees of merchants and insurers. Morisset’s work is distinguished by finely chased neoclassical ornament framing panels of opaque and translucent enamel typically painted with patriotic imagery, the recipient’s arms, crest, and monogram, as well as allegorical figures and historical scenes.
This is one of the earliest recorded examples of this type of small-sword as presented to a soldier, whereas most contemporary recorded examples having been presented to officers of Britain's Royal Navy. The circumstances of its award place it among a very small number of recorded examples of similar type that were presented to general officers by their subordinates following campaigns that did not result in the presentation of a sword to the general officer commanding by his superiors or by an institution.
The recipient of the sword, Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle (1758 – June 30, 1797) was a distinguished Irish-born British Army officer Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1758 to Charles Doyle and Elizabeth Milley. During the American Revolutionary War he served as a lieutenant colonel with the "Volunteers of Ireland" regiment, Doyle was involved in actions in the Southern Campaign. He participated in operations around Fort Granby and skirmished with Brigadier General Francis Marion's forces at Snow's Island and Witherspoon's Ferry. Doyle commanded the 14th Regiment of Foot during the Flanders Campaign in the French Revolutionary War where he famously led a successful attack at the Battle of Famars in 1793, ordering his men to play the French patriotic tune "Ça Ira" to demoralize the enemy. The 14th Foot was subsequently ordered to use "Ça Ira" as their regimental marching tune in commemoration of the victory. He was later promoted to brigadier-general and then major-general. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief and the third Military Governor of British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1797 and died suddenly in Ceylon on June 30, 1797, at the age of 39.
This is one of the earliest recorded examples of this type of small-sword as presented to a soldier, whereas most contemporary recorded examples having been presented to officers of Britain's Royal Navy. The circumstances of its award place it among a very small number of recorded examples of similar type that were presented to general officers by their subordinates following campaigns that did not result in the presentation of a sword to the general officer commanding by his superiors or by an institution.
The recipient of the sword, Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle (1758 – June 30, 1797) was a distinguished Irish-born British Army officer Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1758 to Charles Doyle and Elizabeth Milley. During the American Revolutionary War he served as a lieutenant colonel with the "Volunteers of Ireland" regiment, Doyle was involved in actions in the Southern Campaign. He participated in operations around Fort Granby and skirmished with Brigadier General Francis Marion's forces at Snow's Island and Witherspoon's Ferry. Doyle commanded the 14th Regiment of Foot during the Flanders Campaign in the French Revolutionary War where he famously led a successful attack at the Battle of Famars in 1793, ordering his men to play the French patriotic tune "Ça Ira" to demoralize the enemy. The 14th Foot was subsequently ordered to use "Ça Ira" as their regimental marching tune in commemoration of the victory. He was later promoted to brigadier-general and then major-general. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief and the third Military Governor of British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1797 and died suddenly in Ceylon on June 30, 1797, at the age of 39.
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