The Holme Family
Painting
1628 (made)
1628 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Painted panels depicting family members with the symbols of birth, death and marriage were a common way of commemorating significant rites of passage. They acted as reminders to the living of their own mortality and were often handed down through later generations as heirlooms. The folding panels in this example emphasise the intimate nature of the object.
Subjects Depicted
The panels include several references to the passing of time and the fragility of life, as well as the events of marriage and death. On the left exterior panel are figures representing youth and age. On the right are two inscriptions, each incorporating a visual pun or 'rebus', in which a picture or figure represents a name, word or phrase. Here Christ is represented by a painted figure and the clock dial completes the inscription 'We Must' by representing the words 'Die All'.
Dress
Henry and Dorothy Holme are dressed in the style of the well-to-do merchant class rather than the height of fashion. While their garments are quite plain they could clearly afford the luxury of lace accessories. Henry's ruff and cuffs are trimmed with fine imported needle lace. His wife's are trimmed with bobbin lace of a typically English pattern. Broad-brimmed beaver hats, such as Dorothy wears, were popular with country gentlewomen and women of the merchant class.
Costume provides a clue to the sex of the children in this portrait. Boys up to the age of about 7 were dressed like little girls, wearing skirts known as petticoats. To differentiate them from girls the bodice part of their costume took the form of a man's doublet. Little girls typically wore an embroidered cap, or 'coif', and an apron with a bib. Long narrow strips of fabric known as leading strings are attached to both the children's sleeves. These were used to guide children as they learned to walk.
Painted panels depicting family members with the symbols of birth, death and marriage were a common way of commemorating significant rites of passage. They acted as reminders to the living of their own mortality and were often handed down through later generations as heirlooms. The folding panels in this example emphasise the intimate nature of the object.
Subjects Depicted
The panels include several references to the passing of time and the fragility of life, as well as the events of marriage and death. On the left exterior panel are figures representing youth and age. On the right are two inscriptions, each incorporating a visual pun or 'rebus', in which a picture or figure represents a name, word or phrase. Here Christ is represented by a painted figure and the clock dial completes the inscription 'We Must' by representing the words 'Die All'.
Dress
Henry and Dorothy Holme are dressed in the style of the well-to-do merchant class rather than the height of fashion. While their garments are quite plain they could clearly afford the luxury of lace accessories. Henry's ruff and cuffs are trimmed with fine imported needle lace. His wife's are trimmed with bobbin lace of a typically English pattern. Broad-brimmed beaver hats, such as Dorothy wears, were popular with country gentlewomen and women of the merchant class.
Costume provides a clue to the sex of the children in this portrait. Boys up to the age of about 7 were dressed like little girls, wearing skirts known as petticoats. To differentiate them from girls the bodice part of their costume took the form of a man's doublet. Little girls typically wore an embroidered cap, or 'coif', and an apron with a bib. Long narrow strips of fabric known as leading strings are attached to both the children's sleeves. These were used to guide children as they learned to walk.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Holme Family (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | oil on panel with carved decoration |
| Brief description | Triptych: The Holme Family. Anonymous English, dated 1628. Oil paint on wooden panel |
| Physical description | A painted and carved wooden tryptich probably showing the portraits of Henry Holme, his wife Dorothy and their two children on the inner panels. The exterior is painted with figures representing Youth and Age, a merchant's mark incorporating the letters WH, and an inscription incorporating rebuses (visual puns). These read 'WEE MUST / DIE ALL (the dial of a clock) YET BY / CHRIST (figure of Christ) LIVE ALL'. There is a skull by the wife's portrait, and coats of arms above the man's portrait and above his wife's. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Painted in England by an unidentified painter. Bought at Sotheby's as lot 19, sale 31st January 1951 |
| Historical context | This triptych was previously believed to depict Henry Holme (c.1570-1631) of Paul Holme quartering Wastney, Yorkshire, his wife Dorothy (née Grymston) and their two children. However, the coats of arms above the sitters indicate that it was the woman who belonged to the Holme family, while those of the man are as yet unidentified. It is possible that the woman depicted is one of the daughters of Henry Holme and his wife Dorothy; the most likely candidate being Elizabeth, who married Thomas Hill of Tunstall, Yorkshire. His arms have yet to be discovered. The panel includes several visual references to the passing of time and fragility of life, as well as events such as marriage and death - on the exterior panel are figures of youth and age and inscriptions incorporating rebuses (visual puns). The couple are depicted solemnizing their marriage vows on a book of prayer. A skull beside the wife's portrait presumably indicates that the panel was painted after her death, unless it was a later addition. In a domestic setting, portraits of the deceased acted on the living as reminders of their own mortality. The couple are not dressed in the height of fashion but in the style of the well-to-do merchant class. The linen coif (cap), just visible under the woman's hat, and the cap of the youngest child were probably embroidered within the household. The husband's ruff and cuffs are trimmed with fine, imported needle lace, but his wife's bobbin lace has a typically English pattern. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | Object Type Painted panels depicting family members with the symbols of birth, death and marriage were a common way of commemorating significant rites of passage. They acted as reminders to the living of their own mortality and were often handed down through later generations as heirlooms. The folding panels in this example emphasise the intimate nature of the object. Subjects Depicted The panels include several references to the passing of time and the fragility of life, as well as the events of marriage and death. On the left exterior panel are figures representing youth and age. On the right are two inscriptions, each incorporating a visual pun or 'rebus', in which a picture or figure represents a name, word or phrase. Here Christ is represented by a painted figure and the clock dial completes the inscription 'We Must' by representing the words 'Die All'. Dress Henry and Dorothy Holme are dressed in the style of the well-to-do merchant class rather than the height of fashion. While their garments are quite plain they could clearly afford the luxury of lace accessories. Henry's ruff and cuffs are trimmed with fine imported needle lace. His wife's are trimmed with bobbin lace of a typically English pattern. Broad-brimmed beaver hats, such as Dorothy wears, were popular with country gentlewomen and women of the merchant class. Costume provides a clue to the sex of the children in this portrait. Boys up to the age of about 7 were dressed like little girls, wearing skirts known as petticoats. To differentiate them from girls the bodice part of their costume took the form of a man's doublet. Little girls typically wore an embroidered cap, or 'coif', and an apron with a bib. Long narrow strips of fabric known as leading strings are attached to both the children's sleeves. These were used to guide children as they learned to walk. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.5-1951 |
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| Record created | January 11, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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