19th Century oil on board after Sir Edward Landseer's pet portrait for Queen Victoria

A beautifully executed 19th-century Victorian oil painting on a solid mahogany panel, depicting a charming trio of dogs resting on a luxurious red velvet cushion. This fine piece is a fascinating historical adaptation of Sir Edwin Landseer’s celebrated 1838 royal commission, Hector, Nero, and Dash with the Parrot Lory, which famously depicted Queen Victoria's most beloved personal pets.

Historical Relevance & Compositional Adaptation

Rather than executing a strict line-by-line copy of the massive Royal Collection original, this skilled 19th-century artist purposefully adapted the scene into an intimate, compact "cabinet-size" portrait suited for a Victorian home.

The Sighthound (Nero): The stately black-and-white lurcher/sighthound sits upright on the right, maintaining the exact regal profile and posture that Landseer famously captured.

The Royal Spaniel (Dash): Resting prominently on the red cushion is Dash, Queen Victoria's absolute favourite King Charles Spaniel. His distinct tri-colour markings and soulful, forward-facing expression are a direct, faithful tribute to the central focus of the original masterpiece.

The Artistic Adaptation: The copyist cleverly distilled the composition by omitting the massive Scottish deerhound (Hector) and the foreground parrot (Lory). To balance the newly compressed space on the velvet cushion, the artist introduced a second sleeping spaniel nestled gently behind Dash.

This practice of painting "edited studies" was highly prized in the mid-to-late Victorian era, allowing art lovers to own a focused, deeply affectionate animalier portrait of the Queen's pets without the overwhelming scale of the palace original.

Condition & Authenticity

Period Wood Panel: The reverse features a gorgeous, deep-grained old-growth mahogany panel with rich natural oxidation and a lovely dark patina, dating it firmly to the mid-to-late 19th century (c. 1850–1880).

Historical Markings: The reverse retains a fragment of an original antique paper gallery or auction inventory label with handwritten ink lot numbers ("67").

Surface: The paint surface shows beautiful, authentic fine craquelure and faint vertical graining characteristic of age, giving it immense historical character. The colours remain rich and deep.

Dimensions: 40 cm (W) x 30.5 cm (H) / Approx. 15.7" x 12"

DELIVERY OF THIS ITEM: Insured courier delivery of this item will be £30.