An Unknown Man thumbnail 1
An Unknown Man thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case RMC, Shelf 1, Box D

An Unknown Man

Portrait Miniature
1650-1660 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Portrait of a man, bust,to front, the head turned slightly to left; the sitter wearing a breast plate and a neckcloth tied in a bow. Features in fine dark brown hatches, with touches of red for the lips, brown for the eyes, and with touches of white heightening, on a very pale carnation ground; hair in pale brown wash, lined and hatched in darker colour and with the lights in ochre wash; cravat in pale grey wash, shadowed with dark grey and with the lights in thick white; armour in dark grey wash with the lights in white; tunic sleeves in brown washes hatched with lighter colour; background a grey wash; on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book.

Frame: Seventeenth-century silver-gilt locket, the back flat though curved from top to bottom, straight sides flaring out to the bezel, which holds the flat glass by its bevelled edges; on the back, two loops of flat section, tapered from the centre and soldered to the back as attachments for a ribbon; set with a label inscribed Lucius Carey Viscount Falkland in a late nineteenth-century shaped red leather case fitted with velvet-lined cut-outs for this and seven accompanying objects.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAn Unknown Man (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book
Brief description
Portrait miniature of an unknown man, watercolour on vellum, English school, 1650-1660.
Physical description
Portrait of a man, bust,to front, the head turned slightly to left; the sitter wearing a breast plate and a neckcloth tied in a bow. Features in fine dark brown hatches, with touches of red for the lips, brown for the eyes, and with touches of white heightening, on a very pale carnation ground; hair in pale brown wash, lined and hatched in darker colour and with the lights in ochre wash; cravat in pale grey wash, shadowed with dark grey and with the lights in thick white; armour in dark grey wash with the lights in white; tunic sleeves in brown washes hatched with lighter colour; background a grey wash; on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book.

Frame: Seventeenth-century silver-gilt locket, the back flat though curved from top to bottom, straight sides flaring out to the bezel, which holds the flat glass by its bevelled edges; on the back, two loops of flat section, tapered from the centre and soldered to the back as attachments for a ribbon; set with a label inscribed Lucius Carey Viscount Falkland in a late nineteenth-century shaped red leather case fitted with velvet-lined cut-outs for this and seven accompanying objects.
Dimensions
  • Height: 24mm
  • Width: 20mm
Dimensions taken from John Murdoch Seventeenth-century English Miniatures in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: The Stationery Office, 1997.
Content description
Portrait of a man, bust, wearing armour and a neckcloth tied in a bow.
Styles
Credit line
Bequeathed by George Salting
Object history
Provenance: George Salting; according to a note by Long in the department files, Salting recorded in his notebook (now lost) that the set was from the collection of the Duke of Leeds (presumably George, 10th Duke, b.1862); bequeathed by Salting to the Museum, 1910.
Subject depicted
Bibliographic reference
Murdoch, John. <u>Seventeenth-century English Miniatures in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum</u>. London: The Stationery Office, 1997.
Collection
Accession number
P.141-1910

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 14, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest