The White Ox of Nannau

Image credit: Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

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The Nannau ox was slaughtered and roasted to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of Robert Williames Vaughan (1803–1859) on 25 June 1824. It was one of the last of an ancient herd of white cattle bred at Nannau, near Dolgellau in Merioneth. Beside it stands the Vaughan family cowman, Sion Dafydd. The young man's father, Sir Robert Williames Vaughan (1768–1843), 2nd Baronet, was Merioneth's biggest resident landowner and its sole representative in Parliament for over four decades. The heir’s coming of age was celebrated all over north Wales with bell ringing, fireworks, cannon salutes, balloon ascents and the distribution of food and drink to the poor. The centrepiece of the day was a banquet for nearly 200 guests. To accommodate them, a temporary wooden building covered with brown canvas and a thatched roof was put up in front of the house.

Title

The White Ox of Nannau

Date

1824

Medium

oil on panel

Measurements

H 65 x W 85.5 cm

Accession number

NMW A 29363

Acquisition method

purchased, 2008

Work type

Painting

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