An Unknown Woman

Physical description

Portrait of a woman, head and shoulders, looking to front and wearing a black dress, ruff and a veil at the back of her head; inscriptions in gold on either side on a blue background.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (possibly, painted)
France (possibly, painted)

Date

1576 (painted)

Artist/maker

Hilliard, Nicholas, born 1542 - died 1619 (artist)

Materials and Techniques

Watercolour on vellum stuck to a plain card

Marks and inscriptions

'Ano Ani 1576 . AEtatis Suae. 31'

Dimensions

Diameter: 37 mm

Object history note

Provenance: With S. J. Phillips, London; sold from the collection of the late Greta S. Heckett, Sotheby’s 5th November 1577 (lot 122).

Descriptive line

Portrait miniature of an unknown woman, watercolour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, 1576.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620.. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983.
Cat. 67, pp. 66-67 Full Citation:

“NICHOLAS HILLIARD

Unknown lady, 1576

Victoria & Albert Museum (P.27-1977)
Vellum stuck to a plain card, circular, 37 mm, 1 15/32 in. diam.

An early and brilliant miniature by Hilliard in superb condition. As the year 1576 runs from April 1st 1575/6 to March 31st 1576/77 this miniature could have been painted in France. Hilliard travelled to France between July 15th and December 8th 1576 and was still in Paris with his wife in February 1578. The sitter and her dress look English, so that the miniature was either painted just before he left, or is of an English lady in, for instance, the embassy in Paris. In concept and handling it is closest of all to the only other miniature of comparable quality, from the period Jane Coningsby, 1574, (no. 63).

The dress is that of a lady of the gentry and aristocratic classes and may be closely paralleled in portraits by George Gower during the 1570s (Strong The English Icon, p. 174 (no. 120)). There are slight paint losses at the edges and the features are faded and silver oxidized.

INSCRIBED: On either side of the head: Ano Ani 1576 . AEtatis Suae. 31.

COLLECTIONS: With S. J. Phillips, London; sold from the collection of the late Greta S. Heckett, Sotheby’s 5th November 1577 (lot 122).

LITERATURE: Four Centuries of Portrait Miniatures, Catalogue of the Heckett Collection, 1954 (no. 27), pl. II.
Auerbach, Hilliard, p. 335 (289).
Art at Auction 1976-77, p. 274 rep.”

Exhibition History

Artists of the Tudor Court: the portrait miniature rediscovered, 1520-1620 (Victoria and Albert Museum 09/07/1983-06/11/19833)

Production Note

Hilliard travelled to France in July 1576, so it is possible that the portrait was painted there.

Materials

Watercolour; Vellum

Techniques

Painting

Subjects depicted

Woman; Veil; Ruff

Categories

Portraits; Paintings

Collection code

PDP