19th century watercolour shows 'precursor' to Lady Isabella
A painting from the 19th century has helped shed light on the history of the Laxey Wheel.
Manx National Heritage says it shows not the Lady Isabella as we know her, but a 'precursor wheel' - only seen before as a 'silhouette' in the background of other paintings.
The watercolour was sold at auction in London to MNH last month, from a collection of a 'gentleman's tour of the British Isles'.
Matthew Richardson, Curator of Art and Social History, said: 'When I first saw this I was immediately intrigued; not wishing to get my hopes up too early I consulted a number of colleagues including renowned Laxey expert Andrew Scarffe BEM.
'All confirmed what I was thinking, that this was a portrayal of the original wheel, previously only known as a silhouette in the distance in another painting.
'This new picture shows us how that first wheel worked in great detail, and it adds enormously to our understanding of the site. Clearly, the Lady Isabella did not arrive fully formed in the mind of the designer Robert Casement.
'Instead, he drew on certain elements of the previous wheel, but altered and improved others. It may even be that a whole section, the rod duct, was carried over from that first wheel'.
'The references to this wheel are few and far between so to actually have a painting as accurate as this is brilliant.'
Laxey Historian Andrew Scarffe spoke to Manx Radio about the find:
The painting will become part of Manx National Heritage's art collection at the Manx Museum at a later date.
Image: 'A New Discovery in The Great Laxey Wheel’s History: The pre-cursor of the Great Laxey Wheel (c. 1840)'
The artist behind the painting is yet to be identified.
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