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Seventeenth-century European sovereigns were often represented in the guise of a soldier--emperor of ancient Rome, but in the case of James II, the role carried with it unwelcome political and religious overtones. Shortly after the death of Charles II, in 1685, his illegitimate son James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, raised an army, declared himself king of England at Lyme in Dorset, and attempted to depose James II. The anti-Ccatholic rebellion was decisively crushed at the Battle of Sedgemoor in Somerset, but James's reign was undermined-and faced another, more daunting military threat from his Protestant nephew (and son-in-law), William of Orange (whose even more proudly imperial bust in marble is to your right). James was eventually deposed, and as Bishop Burnet observed: "A great king with strong armies and mighty fleets, a vast treasure and powerful allies fell all at once."

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2005