{"product_id":"early-19th-century-english-antique-armorial-hatchment-representing-the-oakes-family-of-nowton-court-suffolk","title":"Early 19th Century English Antique Armorial Hatchment Representing the Oakes Family of Nowton Court, Suffolk","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis large and handsome early nineteenth-century English armorial hatchment bears the arms of the Oakes family of Nowton Court, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePainted on canvas within a lozenge-shaped frame, it displays the family arms beneath an oak-tree crest, with a full mantling of gilt acanthus. The motto \u003cem\u003eQuercus robur salus patriae\u003c\/em\u003e is a characteristically English pun. \u003cem\u003eQuercus robur\u003c\/em\u003e is the English oak, \u003cem\u003erobur\u003c\/em\u003e also means strength, and the whole may be rendered “The oak, our strength, is the safety of the country”, an apt device for a family named Oakes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe Oakes were among the leading families of Georgian Bury St Edmunds. James Oakes (1741–1829), banker, yarn merchant and alderman, is remembered above all for the diaries he kept from 1778 to 1827, one of the richest records of provincial life of the period. His son Orbell Ray Oakes settled at Nowton in 1802 and acquired the manor in 1832. Under Orbell’s son Henry James Oakes, the house was rebuilt and enlarged as Nowton Court, which remained the family seat until the 1980s. The family’s papers survive at Suffolk Archives, Bury St Edmunds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA hatchment, from “achievement” in the heraldic sense, was a funerary display of the arms of a deceased person. It was hung over the door of the house during the period of mourning, customarily a year, and afterwards was often placed in the parish church. The custom flourished in England from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Its conventions allowed a knowing observer to read a good deal about the deceased:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBachelors, widowers and widows:\u003c\/strong\u003e their arms were shown on an entirely black ground.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA married person:\u003c\/strong\u003e the husband’s arms were impaled with those of his wife, and the black ground appeared behind the half belonging to the deceased.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe last of a line:\u003c\/strong\u003e a skull sometimes took the place of the crest.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHatchments are now increasingly scarce outside churches. This example combines a fine and legible display of heraldry with a documented family history, and it makes a commanding statement piece for a hall, staircase or library.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Early 19th century. England. Found rolled up in a Norfolk barn. The canvas has been re-stretched and re-framed at the time of our acquisition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSources:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/armorial.bibsoc.org.uk\/stamp-owners\/OAK001.html\"\u003eBritish Armorial Bindings – Oakes, James (1741–1829)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hazells.co.uk\/?p=141644\"\u003eHazells – Nowton Court history\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/stirnet.com\/genie\/data\/british\/oo\/oakes1.php\"\u003eStirnet – Oakes of Nowton\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/details\/c\/F18068\"\u003eThe National Archives – Oakes family of Nowton Court\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nowton_Park\"\u003eWikipedia – Nowton Park\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Oil on canvas, on a wooden stretcher; within a later ebonised frame with a gilt inner slip.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e The canvas has been re-stretched and the paint surface stabilised. There is craquelure, wear and minor retouching consistent with age. Please refer to the images. A further detailed condition report is available on request.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e With frame 58 × 58 in (147.3 × 147.3 cm); without frame 49 × 49 in (124.5 × 124.5 cm)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Holt Antiques at East Raynham","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47075601580374,"sku":"HAFDGHATCH02","price":4450.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0782\/7462\/5878\/products\/1563477605-IMG-20190718-WA0013.jpg?v=1696521037","url":"https:\/\/holtantiquefurniture.com\/products\/early-19th-century-english-antique-armorial-hatchment-representing-the-oakes-family-of-nowton-court-suffolk","provider":"Holt Antiques at East Raynham","version":"1.0","type":"link"}