Catherine of Aragon
Gamespiece
ca. 1530-1540 (made)
ca. 1530-1540 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This boxwood draughtsman bears a portrait of Catherine of Aragon. She is shown in profile to the left with her head covered by a hood. Her dress is cut with a low square décolletage edge with a narrow frill and aound her neck there is a gold chain and pendant. On the back an inscription reads 'Catherine Wife of Henry VIII'. The profile bears a close resemblance to contemporary portrists of Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, and the lettering appears to be sixteenth century and is in a style not dissimilar to Holbein. In the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna there is a set of draughtsmen which show similar similar portraits of Henry and one of his Queens.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Catherine of Aragon (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Boxwood |
| Brief description | Catherine of Aragon, boxwood gamespiece after Hans Kels, Germany ca. 1530-1540 |
| Physical description | Draughtsman with a portrait of Catherine of Aragon, boxwood. In profile to the left, the head covered by a hood. The dress cut with a low square décolletage edge with a narrow frill. Round the neck a gold chain and pendant. Deep moulded rim. On the back is cut the inscription HENRICUS VIII. CATHERINA CONIUNX. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'HENRICVS / VIII CATHERINA / CONIVNX' (Latin; Reverse)
|
| Credit line | Murray Bequest |
| Object history | Bought in 1934 from Alfred Spero of London with funds from the Murray Bequest. Provenance: Murray Bequest. Captain Henry Boyles Murray (d. 1910) bequeathed works of art to the Museum in 1910, along with £50,000, from which there was an annual income of £2000. It was decided by the Museum to spend this on works of German Art of the Renaissance. |
| Historical context | The profile bears a close resemblance to contemporary portrists of Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, and the lettering appears to be sixteenth century. The style is not dissimilar to that of the Holbein Meister, a German carver working in England. A set of draughtsmen show similar similar portraits of Henry and one of his Queens is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This boxwood draughtsman bears a portrait of Catherine of Aragon. She is shown in profile to the left with her head covered by a hood. Her dress is cut with a low square décolletage edge with a narrow frill and aound her neck there is a gold chain and pendant. On the back an inscription reads 'Catherine Wife of Henry VIII'. The profile bears a close resemblance to contemporary portrists of Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, and the lettering appears to be sixteenth century and is in a style not dissimilar to Holbein. In the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna there is a set of draughtsmen which show similar similar portraits of Henry and one of his Queens. |
| Bibliographic reference | Trusted, Marjorie. German Renaissance Medals. Victoria & Albert Museum, 1990. 128p., ill. ISBN 1851770135. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.35-1934 |
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| Record created | March 3, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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