Devos China Plates

This fine pair of Chinese Armorial Porcelain Soup Plates with the arms of the deVos family of Holland are currently up for sale. They are dated around 1735.

Cebu

The Basilica Minore del Sto Niño is the centre of the oldest Romanist devotion in the Philippines. It houses the image of the Sto Niño de Cebu, a representation of the infant Jesus, brought by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.
Three churches preceded the present one. The first, by Fr Diego de Herrera, made of nipa and wood burnt down, 1566. The next, also of light materials, by Fr Pedro Torres burnt, 1628. The third, of bricks and stones, was started by Fr Juan de Medina. It fell down, 1629.
On February 29, 1735, Fr Juan de Albarran started the construction of what would be the present church using hewn stone. The church was finished, 1739.
The facade blends Muslim, Romanesque and Neo-Classical features. It follows the classical pattern and is divided into two levels. Shallow pilasters divide each story into three segments decorated with stone bas-reliefs representing Augustinian saints. The bell tower serves as counterbalance to the opposite end. A triangular pediment crowns the solid, but not massive, facade. Attention is focused on the centre section. The trefoil arched main entrance is balanced by the side rectangular statued niches. The vertical composition is echoed by the small design on the second level above the cornice, the trefoil arch, the pediment and the side scroll-like ornament, a facade within a facade. A double-edged triangular pediment crowns the facade.

10 Downing Street

[From Wikipedia]

The home of the British Prime minister, Number 10 Downing Street, was originally three houses. In 1732 King George II offered them to Sir Robert Walpole in gratitude for services to the nation. Walpole accepted on condition they would be a gift to the office of First Lord of the Treasury rather than to him personally. Walpole commissioned leading architect William Kent to join them together. Kent's plan was a masterpiece and this larger house is known today as 10 Downing Street.
Kent joined the larger houses by building a two-story structure on part of the space between them, consisting of a long room on the ground floor and several rooms above. The remaining space was converted into an inner courtyard. He then connected the Downing Street houses with a corridor, now called the Treasury Passage.

Rebuilding took 3 years. On September 23, 1735, the London Daily Post announced that Walpole had moved into Number 10: “Yesterday, the Right Hon Sir Robert Walpole, with his Lady and Family moved from their House in St James’s Square, to his new House adjoining to the Treasury in St James’s Park.”
The Walpole family did not enter through the door now so famous (not installed until 40 years later). However, like Number 10's famous door, Kent's was also modest, belying the spacious elegance beyond. Their new, albeit temporary, home had 60 rooms, with hardwood and marble floors, crown moulding, elegant pillars and marble mantelpieces; those on the west side with beautiful views of St James's Park. One of the largest rooms was a study for Walpole, 40 feet by 20 with enormous windows overlooking St James's Park. The room was and still is magnificent; its impressive size is easily seen in many paintings and photographs (virtual tour here). "My Lord's Study" (as Kent labelled it in his drawings) would later be famous as the Cabinet room where Prime Ministers meet with their subordinate ministers. A portrait of Walpole hangs over the fireplace behind the PM’s chair; the only picture in the room.
The total final cost of Kent's conversion is unknown. The original estimate was £8k but probably exceeded £20k, then a very large sum. The arrangement was not an immediate success. Despite its impressive size and convenient location, few early PMs lived there. Costly to maintain, neglected and run-down, it came close to being razed several times but survived and became linked with many of the great statesmen and events in British history. Gradually, the people came to appreciate its historic value.

Georgia Map

Future Location of Chatham County, 1735

The area enclosed in red represents the future boundaries of Chatham County. The above map shows what is labeled the "County of Savannah" and is commonly attributed to having been prepared in 1740 in conjunction with the Trustees creating the "County of Savannah" in 1741. However, stronger evidence suggests that the map was based on a sketch James Oglethorpe carried to England in 1734 and was subsequently published in a 1735 report on Georgia's Salzburger immigrants.

Why this map is entitled the "County of Savannah" is not known, though it may have been based on the assumption that the English system of counties would be applied in Georgia. The Trustees had debated a new plan for administering the colony of Georgia for some time, and in April 1741 they divided Georgia into two counties named Savannah and Frederica. The County of Savannah included settlements on both banks of the Ogeechee River, plus all lands northward to the Savannah River.

Source: T.F. Lotter, "A Map of the County of Savannah," 1735

Chardin 1735

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779) was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life. His most famous work of 1735 is Lady taking tea. It was apparently painted in February 1735. His wife Marguerite Saintard died two months later. From the same time are The Young Sketcher, The School Mistress, The Embroiderer, The House of Cards, Rabbit with Copper Cauldron and Quince, Soap Bubbles and a portrait of Charles Godefroy (1706-1771). We have mentioned before his Boy with a top also of 1735.