BENJAMIN ZOBEL (GERMAN / BRITISH, 1762-1831): A RARE MARMONTINTO SAND PAINTING OF A LEOPARD ATTACKING A WILD HORSE, 1823

oil / sand/ gummi arabicum on panel, monogrammed to the lower left corner 'BZ', formed of coloured sand, mounted in a mahogany veneered, glazed frame, verso: on panel handwritten inscribed, titled and dated 1823

61cm wide x 43cm high excluding frame,

Benjamin Zobel was one of the leading exponents of sand pictures which remained a popular item until the mid-19th century. Zobel came to England from Bavaria and was initially employed as a 'Table-Decker' at Windsor Castle before he began to make his now famous sand pictures.

Marmontinto is the art of creating pictures using coloured sand or marble dust and otherwise known as sand painting. Originating in Europe, and based on the Japanese craft of bonseki, marmontinto was popular in England following a 1783 dinner party given by George III at Windsor Castle who was so taken with a display of coloured sands and marble dust executed by the Bavarian table-decker Benjamin Zobel, a friend of George Morland, a painter prominent in the ‘Isle of Wight School’. The King and his courtiers encouraged Zobel to create a more lasting artform and they were so impressed with the resulting pictures that the craft of marmotinto was born and proved most successful under the patronage of various members of the royal household including the then Duke of York.