A Pursuivant from the Garter Procession thumbnail 1
A Pursuivant from the Garter Procession thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery

A Pursuivant from the Garter Procession

Drawing
1660-1670 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The drawing shows a partcipant in the Procession of the Order of the Garter. It is one of 31 surviving drawings in which the artist recorded the various participants on their route through the palaces of Westminster. Together they give a vivid impression of the ceremony in the 1660s, some 300 years after the Order had been founded.

Time
The annual Procession of the Order of the Garter was introduced in the mid-14th century and is still held in London on St George's Day, 23 April, every year. During the Civil War and Interregnum, when the monarch was in exile, the Order was suspended. After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 it was revived and its ceremony duly recommenced, with the King at its head. By way of celebration, a far more elaborate costume was introduced.

People
The artist, Sir Peter Lely, arrived in London from his native Holland in the early 1640s. In spite of two decades of political uncertainty, by the 1660s he had become the most popular portrait painter in Britain. In 1661 Charles II granted him an annual pension in recognition of his role as Principal Painter. The previous holder of this title was Lely's fellow countryman, Anthony Van Dyck, who died in 1642.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleA Pursuivant from the Garter Procession (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Black chalk, heightened with white, on blue-grey paper
Brief description
Drawing of a Pursuivant from the Garter Procession, drawn in England by Sir Peter Lely, 1660-1670
Physical description
Drawing.
Dimensions
  • Excluding mount height: 49.5cm
  • Excluding mount width: 25.1cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 26/04/1999 by sp
Marks and inscriptions
'Herauten' (Inscribed)
Gallery label
British Galleries: This drawing shows an officer of the College of Arms known as a Pursuivant, from the annual St George's Day procession. After the Restoration the ceremonies of the Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, were revived with great splendour. The artist, Peter Lely has used delicate drawing in chalk to convey the impressive figure of the officer in his formal costume, poised in movement.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Purchased around 1856 (?) from W. Mayor

Drawn in England by Sir Peter Lely (born in Soest, Westphalia, Germany, 1618, died in London, 1680), one of a series of 31 surviving drawings
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
The drawing shows a partcipant in the Procession of the Order of the Garter. It is one of 31 surviving drawings in which the artist recorded the various participants on their route through the palaces of Westminster. Together they give a vivid impression of the ceremony in the 1660s, some 300 years after the Order had been founded.

Time
The annual Procession of the Order of the Garter was introduced in the mid-14th century and is still held in London on St George's Day, 23 April, every year. During the Civil War and Interregnum, when the monarch was in exile, the Order was suspended. After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 it was revived and its ceremony duly recommenced, with the King at its head. By way of celebration, a far more elaborate costume was introduced.

People
The artist, Sir Peter Lely, arrived in London from his native Holland in the early 1640s. In spite of two decades of political uncertainty, by the 1660s he had become the most popular portrait painter in Britain. In 1661 Charles II granted him an annual pension in recognition of his role as Principal Painter. The previous holder of this title was Lely's fellow countryman, Anthony Van Dyck, who died in 1642.
Bibliographic references
  • Owens, Susan, The Art of Drawing British Masters and Methods since 1600, V&A Publishing, London, 2013, p. 45, fig. 26
  • Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6. This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021)
Collection
Accession number
2166

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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