Adam's Country House Collections 18th & 19th October 2021

139 Country House Collections|18 th & 19 th October 2021 475 AN IRISH GEORGE IV MAHOGANY RECTANGULAR SIDE TABLE, in the manner of Williams and Gibton, Dublin, the top with egg and dart band- ing above a plain panelled frieze, raised on lion monopodia with carved anthe- mion, on a concave platform base. 169 x 63 x 95cm high € 6,000 - 8,000 474 CIRCLE OF JOHN LEWIS (18TH CENTURY) Portrait of Thomas Sheridan (1687-1738) Gouache on paper, 19.5 X 23.5cm Inscribed verso This appears to be the image used by Cook to engrave the portrait of Dr Sheri- dan for the ‘Life of Swift’ 1784 book. The engraving of an old inscription on the back of the present lot, identifies the sitter beyond doubt. In any case, Thomas Sheridan Jnr. would not have used it in his biography of his godfather if it was not a true image of this father. Dr Thomas Sheridan, a noted educationalist and philologist, came, through his wife, into the property of Quilea, Co. Cavan. His son, Thomas, was born in 1721, Quilea became a destination for Jonathan Swift and other intellectuals. Later, John Lewis was to decorate it with murals and portraits of the family. However Dr Sheridan dying in 1738, it is difficult to establish who exactly paint- ed the present lot or if it records an earlier portrait. Certainly, there is a strength and empathy about it which would seem to indicate a direct interaction be- tween artist and sitter. It is an important depiction of the founder of the remark- able Sheridan dynasty. € 2,000 - 3,000