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Image of Gallery in South Kensington

James I

Portrait Miniature
1604-1609 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Hilliard, Nicholas (artist)
Place of origin
England (painted)

Portrait miniature of James I in an oval frame; half length, turned slightly to right and looking to front with right hand on hip; an inscription in gold around the edge of the portrait. Part of a spade which has been concealed with a band of watercolour is visible on the reverse of the support.

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read Nicholas Hilliard – An introduction Nicholas Hilliard (1547 – 1619) is the most celebrated English miniaturist of the Elizabethan era. He pioneered the genre known as 'limning', which involved painting with rich, opaque watercolours on vellum (calfskin). The term 'limning' comes from the Latin word 'luminare', meaning 'to gi...

Object details

Categories
Royalty
Portraits
Paintings
Fashion
Hair and Hairstyles
Clothing
Jewellery
Scotland
Object type
Portrait miniature
TitleJames I (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on vellum stuck onto a playing card
Watercolour
Vellum
Cardboard
Painting
Brief description
Portrait miniature of James I, watercolour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, 1604-1609.
Physical description
Portrait miniature of James I in an oval frame; half length, turned slightly to right and looking to front with right hand on hip; an inscription in gold around the edge of the portrait. Part of a spade which has been concealed with a band of watercolour is visible on the reverse of the support.
Dimensions
  • Height: 53mm
  • Width: 43mm
Dimensions taken from: Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620.. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983.
Content description
Portrait of a man, half-length, turned slightly to right and looking to front, his right hand on hip. The sitter is wearing a white doublet adorned with jewels, a hat with feather, lace collar and a pendant is suspended from a blue ribbon around his neck.
Styles
Stuart
Jacobean
English School
Marks and inscriptions
'IACOBVS. DEI. G(RATIA) MAGNAE BRITAN(IAE) FRAN. ET HIB(ERNIAE) REX.' (Inscribed in gold on a blue ground within the border, part of which is damaged)
Gallery label
Nicholas Hilliard 1547-1619
James I
About 1604-9

James was the son of Elizabeth's cousin and great rival, Mary, Queen of Scots. He inherited the English throne after Elizabeth's death in 1603.

Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
Inscribed within the border in Latin 'James, by the grace of God King of Britain, France and Scotland'
Museum no. P.3.1937
Subjects depicted
King
Pendant
Lace
James (I of England and VI of Scotland)
Associated object
P.4-1937 (Pair)
Bibliographic references
  • Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1937, London: Board of Education, 1938.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
P.3-1937

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Record createdJuly 8, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O81998/james-i-portrait-miniature-hilliard-nicholas/
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