Major-General John Lambert, 1653, a small uniface oval silver portrait medal, by J. Stuart after Thomas Simon, bare head left with short, curled hair, lambert behind, 25 x 22mm (Platt II, pp.182-3, type E; MI I, 405/39 var.). Extremely fine, toned and very rare, contained in its original shagreen case, this with an old inked label, ‘M G Lambert’ £300-£400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Dr Jerome J. Platt Collection of 17th-Century Medals.

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Collection

‘Papillon’ Collection, Bonhams Auction, 25 March 1998, lot 36; C. Foley Collection, Woolley & Wallis Auction (Salisbury), 16 October 2014, lot 372 [from D. Fearon April 2006]

John Lambert (1619-84) was a leading Parliamentary general during the Civil War and the principal architect of the Protectorate, the form of republican government which existed from 1653 to 1659. He first distinguished himself in encounters with the Royalists at Bradford in March 1644, and he fought bravely in the major Parliamentary victory at Marston Moor in July. A major-general at the age of 28, he helped Henry Ireton draw up the “Heads of the Proposals,” a draft constitution aimed at reconciling the conflicting interests of the army, Parliament and the king. At the beginning of the second phase of the Civil War in 1648, Lambert was commander of the troops of northern England. He routed the Scottish Royalist invaders at Preston in August and, on 22 March 1649, he captured Pontefract, the last Royalist stronghold in England. Second in command under Cromwell during the campaigns against the Royalists in Scotland in 1650 and 1651, Lambert was also at Worcester on 3 September 1651, when the future Charles II was defeated in the final battle of the Civil War. Lambert was a key figure during the Commonwealth but in 1657 outspokenly opposed the proposal that Cromwell be made king. In June 1662, he was sentenced to death for his part in the Civil War but was granted a reprieve and spent the rest of his life in prison.