1800s MARY GRANT Biblical Engraving “St Margarite Defeats the Dragon” Framed COA

$344.00

Artist: Miss Mary Grant (British, 1831–1908)
Title: St Margarite and the Dragon
Medium: Antique engraving on wove paper after the original by master engraver George J Stodart (British, 1884-1890 c.fl.).
Year: 1881
Condition: Excellent
Dimensions: Image Size 3 1/2 x 9 5/8 inches.
Framed Dimensions: Approximately 13 x 19 inches.
Framing: This piece has been professionally matted and framed using all new materials.
Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr (Greek: Ἁγία Μαρίνα) in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in the Western Rite Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism, on 17 July (Julian calendar) by the Eastern Orthodox Church and on Epip 23 and Hathor 23 in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. She was reputed to have promised very powerful indulgences to those who wrote or read her life, or invoked her intercessions; these no doubt helped the spread of her following. Margaret is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and is one of the saints Joan of Arc claimed to have spoken with. According to a 9th-century martyrology of Rabanus Maurus, she suffered at Antioch in Pisidia (in what is now Turkey) in around 304, during the Diocletianic persecution. She was the daughter of a pagan priest named Aedesius. Her mother having died soon after her birth, Margaret was nursed by a Christian woman five or six leagues (6.9–8.3 miles) from Antioch. Having embraced Christianity and consecrated her virginity to God, Margaret was disowned by her father, adopted by her nurse, and lived in the country keeping sheep with her foster mother. Olybrius, Governor of the Roman Diocese of the East, asked to marry her, but with the demand that she renounce Christianity. Upon her refusal, she was cruelly tortured, during which various miraculous incidents occurred. One of these involved being swallowed by Satan in the shape of a dragon, from which she escaped alive when the cross she carried irritated the dragon’s innards. Eventually, she was decapitated. In art, she is often represented as a shepherdess, or pictured escaping from, or standing above, a dragon. While Western iconography typically depicts St. Margaret emerging from the dragon, Eastern Byzantine iconography tends to focus on her battle with the demon in her cell and depicts her grabbing him by his hair and swinging a copper hammer at his face.
Mary Grant was one of the most eminent female sculptors of 19th century Britain, with numerous commissions from the rich and famous. Grant was born in 1831 in Kilgraston House in Perthshire, into a very well-connected family. Her grandfather was Lord Elgin of Elgin Marbles fame. Her aunt and uncle were Mary Anne Grant and Sir Francis Grant, both artists, the latter being President of the Royal Academy. Another uncle was General James Hope Grant, a British military hero. These artistic and aristocratic connections would serve her well in the otherwise notoriously male preserve of figurative sculpture. She took up sculpting in her twenties, and went to Florence to study under Odoardo Fantacchiotti and then went to Rome to study under John Gibson, both highly skilled figurative sculptors. After a period in Paris studying with Michel-Louis Victor Mercier she then set up studio in London, working under the guidance of John Henry Foley. From 1864 to 1877 she returned to Kilgraston House, and worked from there. In 1877 she moved to Ebenezer House on Albany Street, London and in 1889 to 29 Tite Street, London, then becoming the immediate neighbour of John Singer Sargent and Ernest Ibbetson. She worked much in cast plaster, using Fernando Meacci to aid in the process. She exhibited her work at the Woman’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. She never married. She died on 20 February 1908 in London.

Customer Testimonials

Salvador
Salvador
I am so pleased with this purchase. I am always a little leary about buying old prints but this has been my favorite purchase and best experience in a long time. Thank you so much for the very high quality, the excellent price, the speedy delivery and a most fitting description. I am sooo pleased. Great doing business with you!!!!
Barry
Barry
A beautiful engraving done by my ancestor, artist JD Watson. Terrific price and super quick and safe shipping. A+++ seller.
Barry
Barry
A beautiful engraving done by my ancestor, artist JD Watson. Terrific price and super quick and safe shipping. A+++ seller.
Levinfl
Levinfl
Most excellent seller This is the focal point of my collection
Bobbi
Bobbi
The seller was totally accommodating about responding to questions and working out details about the framing. Exceptionally beautiful results!! Many thanks!!! The packaging was absolutely secure. A wonderful experience working with a conscientious professional.
Agarfield50
Agarfield50
The print arrived EXACTLY when the seller said it would; the quality was simply EXCELLENT; and the frame was SUPERB. I am so happy with this art work and will probably buy again. What a relief to find honest art dealers. Thank you.
 mtgtreasurecompany
mtgtreasurecompany
Great Gift!!!
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1800s mary grant biblical engraving "st margarite defeats the dragon" framed coa1800s MARY GRANT Biblical Engraving “St Margarite Defeats the Dragon” Framed COA
$344.00