An Unknown Woman, aged 26 thumbnail 1
An Unknown Woman, aged 26 thumbnail 2
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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

An Unknown Woman, aged 26

Portrait Miniature
1593 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The medium and techniques of miniature painting, or limning as it was traditionally called, developed from the art of illustrating sacred books (also called limning). Nicholas Hilliard first trained as a goldsmith and introduced to this watercolour art innovative techniques for painting gold and jewels. In this miniature we see his characteristic curling and scrolling calligraphy, painted in real gold and then burnished.

Place
Nicholas Hilliard set up business in Gutter Lane in the City of London. In his treatise on limning Hilliard noted that limners should choose an area away from other trades, a 'place where neither dust, smoke, noise nor stench may offend' and some colours would suffer in the 'sulphurous air of seacoal and the gilding of goldsmiths'. Also 'the place where you work' should be lit from the north-east by one window, 'great and fair', with no walls or trees blocking the light. The late Medieval buildings of London would have made it hard to find such a workplace.

People
This sitter was once called Mistress Holland, Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth, because of a later inscription on the miniature's back. There is no real proof that she is Mistress Holland, but her magnificent costume, embroidered with tiny bees and deer, does not rule against her being a lady of the court.

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watch How was it made? Portrait miniatures The V&A holds the national collection of British portrait miniatures - a unique watercolour art form which developed during the reign of Henry VIII. Miniatures were popular as portable images of loved ones until the the rise of photography in the mid 19th century. The collection contains o...

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAn Unknown Woman, aged 26 (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on vellum stuck onto a playing card
Brief description
Portrait of a woman, previously thought to be Mrs Holland, watercolour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, 1593.
Physical description
Portrait miniature of a woman, half-length, turned slightly to left and looking to front. Oval with inscriptions in gold above the head. There are five spades printed on the reverse of the backing sheet.
Dimensions
  • Height: 5.8cm
  • Width: 4.8cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 23/05/2000 by NH
Content description
Portrait of a woman, half-length, oval; the sitter is wearing a black dress with a white stomacher embroidered with bees and deer, and wearing a large ruff with white textile ties.
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Ano Dni. 1593. AEtatis suae. 26' (Inscribed at the top with lettering and a fleur de lys)
  • 'Mrs – Holland / Maid of Honor in the / Court of Queen / Elizabeth / by Hilliard Senr.' (Inscribed on the reverse in a nineteenth century hand)
Gallery label
British Galleries: Nicholas Hilliard and Miniature Painting
Nicholas Hilliard trained as a goldsmith and developed painting techniques that exploited this training. He used metallic pigments to mimic the jewellery on the opulent clothes that were fashionable. Hilliard created the image of Elizabeth and her courtiers that we know today, but he never won a salaried position at court. He had to set up shop in the City of London. From there he painted anyone who could afford his services.

The woman in this miniature has chosen a conventional pose for her portrait. Hilliard has carefully painted her magnificent dress decorated with tiny embroidered bees and deer.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Bequeathed by George Salting
Object history
- Previously thought to be a portrait of Mrs Holland because of a nineteenth-century inscription on the reverse.

- In 2003 it was suggested that this miniature of an unknown woman was a portrait of Emilia Bassano [Amelia or Emilia Bassano], married to Alphonso Lanier. Emilia Bassano was claimed to be 'a prime contender for the role of [Shakespeare's] Dark Lady... The discovery was stumbled upon by the actor and playwright Tony Haygarth while researching his latest play, Dark Meaning Mouse, which examines the relationship between Shakespeare and his Dark Lady and her influence on his work.' (reported by Simon Tait, 'The Independent', 7 Dec 2003). Another miniature by Nicholas Hilliard in the V&A’s collection (museum no. P.8-1945) has also been suggested as a portrait of Amelia or Emilia Lanier (born Bassano).

Provenance: In the collection of Samuel Addington in 1865 when lent to the South Kensington Exhibition as 'Mrs Holland', sold in his sale as Lady Elizabeth Russell, Christie’s 26th April 1883 (lot 87); bought Wareham; J. Lumsden Propert Collection; purchased by Salting at the dissolution of that collection in 1897 by the Fine Art Society; bequeathed by Salting 1910.

Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
The medium and techniques of miniature painting, or limning as it was traditionally called, developed from the art of illustrating sacred books (also called limning). Nicholas Hilliard first trained as a goldsmith and introduced to this watercolour art innovative techniques for painting gold and jewels. In this miniature we see his characteristic curling and scrolling calligraphy, painted in real gold and then burnished.

Place
Nicholas Hilliard set up business in Gutter Lane in the City of London. In his treatise on limning Hilliard noted that limners should choose an area away from other trades, a 'place where neither dust, smoke, noise nor stench may offend' and some colours would suffer in the 'sulphurous air of seacoal and the gilding of goldsmiths'. Also 'the place where you work' should be lit from the north-east by one window, 'great and fair', with no walls or trees blocking the light. The late Medieval buildings of London would have made it hard to find such a workplace.

People
This sitter was once called Mistress Holland, Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth, because of a later inscription on the miniature's back. There is no real proof that she is Mistress Holland, but her magnificent costume, embroidered with tiny bees and deer, does not rule against her being a lady of the court.
Bibliographic reference
Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620.. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. Cat. 95, p. 81. Carl Winter, Elizabethan Miniatures, 1943, pl. 11 (a). V&A, 1947 (60). Erna Auerbach, Hilliard, 1961, p. 133, pl. 202, 305 (102).
Collection
Accession number
P.134-1910

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Record createdFebruary 21, 2003
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