A Voluptuary under the horrors of digestion

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James Gillray
1756-1815
A Voluptuary under the horrors of digestion
hand colored etching
image: 36 x 27.8 cm; sheet: 37.8 x 28.5 cm
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1900.
Peel 2792
Published: 
[London] : H. Humphrey, July 2, 1792
Provenance: 
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Notes: 

Trimmed to within plate mark.
A companion print to Peel 2793 (BM 8117), "Temperance enjoying a frugal meal."

Summary: 

The Prince of Wales, languid with repletion, leans back in an arm-chair, holding a fork to his mouth. His waistcoat is held together by a single button across his distended stomach. On his right a circular table covered with the remains of a meal, with decanters of 'Port' and 'Brandy', a castor of 'Chian'. Under the table, partly covered by the cloth, are empty wine-bottles. On a shelf behind the Prince (right) is a triple stand of jelly-glasses, among which is a small pot: 'For the Piles', and a bottle: 'Drops for a Stinking Breath'. On the wall above is a candle-sconce with a burlesque coat of arms for the Prince: a plate with a crossed knife and fork, with his motto, coronet, and feathers; one candle is stuck in a wine-bottle, the other in a wine-glass. Through the window is seen the (unfinished) colonnade of Carlton House.

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