Armorial Achievement of the Sneyd Family

A late Georgian armorial achievement for the Sneyd family, surmounted by their crest of a lion and with their motto beneath; Nec Opprimere. Nec Opprimi: Neither to Oppress Nor to be Oppressed. Professionally painted on a wooden panel and within a gilt gesso frame.

11 inches x 13.75 inches

The Sneyd family armorial is the sythe and fleur-de-lys, the handle of a sythe originally called a snead; the fleur-de-lys added by Richard de Tunstall, alias Sneyd, after its being awarded for his efforts in bringing about victory over the French forces at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. As royalists the family fortunes waned following the English Civil War, only to rise again some generations later under Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Sneyd. He was a member of parliament between 1784 and 1790 and commander of the Staffordshire Militia which served as body guard to King George III at Windsor. The last of the Sneyd family line, Colonel Ralph Sneyd, arrested the exotic dancer and spy, Mata Hari, at the Champs-Elysées Hotel, Paris, 13th February 1917. She was accused of spying for the Germans, her revelations resulting in the deaths of at least 50,000 men. Following her controversial trial she was executed by a French firing squad in October that same year.