Thomas Beard, 'Under Sheriff'

Ward's plate presents Thomas Beard in full ceremonial dress of the Under-Sheriff of London: black velvet court coat with silver buttons, knee breeches, silk stockings, buckled shoes, a lace jabot and cuffs, and the distinctive cocked hat of civic office. He is shown in three-quarter profile, walking stick tucked under his arm, white-haired and bearded, with the self-important bearing that Ward reliably found in legal officeholders. The caption simply reads 'Under Sheriff'—a position then responsible for executing court orders and managing the City's judicial machinery. The portrait gently mocks the pomp of a largely ceremonial role by rendering its incumbent as a figure of magnificent, slightly comic dignity.