Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd baronet, of Mostyn Hall, Flintshire, was an MP for thirty-three years and a major landowner in north Wales. In this portrait, his left hand concealed inside his coat softens his formal pose and draws attention to the luxurious fabric. In 1703 he married Lady Essex Finch, daughter of the Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham. Mostyn was a Tory and a supporter of the Hanoverian succession. On the accession of George I he became a Whig like his father-in-law. The artist Godfrey Kneller was born in Lübeck, Germany, and settled in London in 1676. He became highly successful and profoundly influenced many later British artists.