Current Location: In storage
Titles
Portrait of a Lady, probably Queen Henrietta Maria
Maker(s)
Maker:
Unknown
Entities
Categories
Description
White silk embroidered with deep, mid, pale and very pale blue, deep green, yellowish-green, yellowish-brown, cream, fawn, grey, and white silks, metal thread, and purl, with attached coral beads and pearls. Stitches: bullion knot, couching, French knot, long and short, needlepoint and satin. Within an oval frame with a purl border is a portrait of a Queen Henrietta Maria (1606-1669), the head of carved wood in high relief covered with canvas, the features painted, hair real, crystal ear-drops, necklace of seed pearls and coral, bodice satin embroidered with flowers, collar of needlepoint lace, net kerchief draped over shoulders. In the background is a palace with in front of it a lake with rocky surround. Four symmetrical sprays of stylized leaves in purl spring from the centres of the four sides of the oval. In the top left corner is a rose spray and in the top right, a spray of carnation. In the bottom left is a lion with a pansy above him, and in the lower right, a leopard with wild rose above him. Both animals on grounds of moss formed by loops of tightly twisted silk.
Notes
History note: By 1903, Rachel E. Head, Bath; by 1921, Percival D. Griffiths; between 1 October 1928 and 30 September 1929, sold by Griffiths to unknown buyer (£90). Louis Colville Gray Clarke (1881-1960), Leckhampton, Cambridge, by whom given
Legal notes
Given by Louis C.G. Clarke, MA
Measurements and weight
Height: 22.2 cm
Width: 26 cm
Acquisition and important dates
Method of acquisition: Given
(1945-07-24)
by
Clarke, Louis Colville Gray
Dating
17th Century, third quarter#
Circa
1650
-
1675
Note
The building in the background appears to be Richmond Palace, which was given to Henrietta Maria as a gift by her husband, Charles I, in the 1620s.
Components of the work
Embroidery
composed of
silk
( polychrome)
Base
composed of
satin
References and bibliographic entries
Related exhibitions
Identification numbers
Accession number: T.19-1945
Primary reference Number: 139878
Stable URI
Audit data
Created: Saturday 6 August 2011
Updated: Tuesday 25 April 2023
Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023
Associated departments & institutions
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
