Unknown man, former believed to be William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke
Portrait Miniature
1620-1622
1620-1622
| Artist/Maker |
Portrait miniature of an unknown man, formerly believed to be William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. This miniature is by Peter Oliver and is signed by the artist. But it is set in an eliptical box of turned ivory which has been added at a later date. Inside the lid of the box is a label inscribed:"Wm. Herbert / Earl of Pembroke / by P. Oliver / signed." The miniature itself is inscribed on the back in graphite by a nineteenth-century hand: "William Shakespeare / by Peter Oliver". Both inscriptions seem to be have been added in the 19th century, as was presumably the ivory box. This sixteenth-century-style portrait-box, is either an old one which was already broken, or is a new one made to look old and broken. Turned ivory is exceptionally difficult to date.
The lid of this box is made of turned ivory, worked on a lathe. At their most simple, turned ivory cases are circular and unadorned. Decorations can be added using an adaptation of the lathe called a 'rose engine' (a fitting to a lathe used for engraving curved patterns). This lid is an example of a further complication, the use of a lathe fitting called an 'ellipse chuck' which produces elliptical, or oval, forms.
The lid of this box is made of turned ivory, worked on a lathe. At their most simple, turned ivory cases are circular and unadorned. Decorations can be added using an adaptation of the lathe called a 'rose engine' (a fitting to a lathe used for engraving curved patterns). This lid is an example of a further complication, the use of a lathe fitting called an 'ellipse chuck' which produces elliptical, or oval, forms.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Title | Unknown man, former believed to be William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke |
| Materials and techniques | Features stippled and hatched in strokes of very pale brown, grey and sanguine, with white highlights in the eyes, on a pale carnation ground hair in long strokes of dark grey-brown over a pale brown wash, stippled in dark grey at the hair-line; ruff in impasted white over grey wash; doublet in black wash modelled in grey; background in dark blue grey, shadowed lower right with dark grey hatches; a gold marginal strip; on vellum put down on a leaf from a table-book, and the whole mounted on a subsidiary piece of pasteboard. |
| Brief description | Portrait miniature of an unknown man, formerly believed to be William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke in an eliptical box of turned ivory. Watercolour on vellum, painted by Peter Oliver, 1620-1622. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | In gold, centre right: PO (interlaced); Inscribed on the back in graphite by a nineteenth-century hand: William Shakespeare / by Peter Oliver £ [6?] 00.
Inside the lid pf the ivory box is a label inscribed: Wm. Herbert / Earl of Pembroke / by P. Oliver / signed. |
| Credit line | Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Provenance: Samuel Addington, his sale, Christie's 26 April 1883, lot 98, bt. Joseph (110 gns, and by him sold to J L Propert; FAS 1897, bt. Salting, and by him bequeathed to the Museum, 1910. |
| Summary | Portrait miniature of an unknown man, formerly believed to be William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. This miniature is by Peter Oliver and is signed by the artist. But it is set in an eliptical box of turned ivory which has been added at a later date. Inside the lid of the box is a label inscribed:"Wm. Herbert / Earl of Pembroke / by P. Oliver / signed." The miniature itself is inscribed on the back in graphite by a nineteenth-century hand: "William Shakespeare / by Peter Oliver". Both inscriptions seem to be have been added in the 19th century, as was presumably the ivory box. This sixteenth-century-style portrait-box, is either an old one which was already broken, or is a new one made to look old and broken. Turned ivory is exceptionally difficult to date. The lid of this box is made of turned ivory, worked on a lathe. At their most simple, turned ivory cases are circular and unadorned. Decorations can be added using an adaptation of the lathe called a 'rose engine' (a fitting to a lathe used for engraving curved patterns). This lid is an example of a further complication, the use of a lathe fitting called an 'ellipse chuck' which produces elliptical, or oval, forms. |
| Bibliographic reference | Murdoch, John. Seventeenth-century English Miniatures in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: The Stationery Office, 1997.
Cat 9, pp.24-25. Part Citation:
Frame: An oval portrait-box turned on the back and lid with concentric mouldings around a central rose; repaired with a brass band to which is fixed a circular ring hanger. Inside the lid is a label inscribed: Wm. Herbert / Earl of Pembroke / by P. Oliver / signed. Evidently a replacement for an original locker with a hinged lid.
Provenance: Samuel Addington, his sale, Christie's 26 April 1883, lot 98, bt. Joseph (110 gns, and by him sold to J L Propert; FAS 1897, bt. Salting, and by him bequeathed to the Museum, 1910.
Exhibited: BFAC 1889, no. 45, p. 100, and pl. VIII; New Gallery, Regent Street, The Royal House of Tudor, 1890, no. 1127; FAS 1897, no. 33; New Haven etc. 1981-2, no.32.
Literature: Propert 1887, p. 255, repro. facing p. 60; Williamson 1897, p. 156; Salting Collection, 1911, p. 41, fig. 2; Foster 1911 (attributed to Isaac Oliver); Long 1929, p. 321; Long 1930, p. 52, repro. no. 17; Schidloff 1964, vol. II, p. 602; Summary Catalogue 1981, p. 42; Murdoch 1981, pl. 17b (repro in colour).
The miniature had presumably lost its original locket before some enterprising nineteenth-century dealer, fancying a resemblance to the Droeshout image of Shakespeare, supplied that identification and reinforced it with the sixteenth-century style portrait-box, either an old one already broken, or a new one made to look old and broke. Turned ivory is exceptionally difficult to date.
Although the inscription referring to Shakespeare and the price were too obviously a ramp, Addington and subsequent owners still believed that the sitter was William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1580-1630). This Herbert identification was, presumably faute de mieux, as close as the portrait could plausibly be brought to Shakespeare: Herbert having been the patron of Shakespeare and, romantically, a candidate for the identity of Mr W H.
But the Herbert portraiture is not compatible with this miniature. The three relevant images are: a) of 1617, variously attributed to Gheeraerts (Munthe Collection), van Blijenberch (Powis Castle) and Van Somer (Royal Collection); b) of c.1625, by Mytens (a very numerous type well exemplified at Wilton); and a posthumous classicising image by Van Dyck, also at Wilton. In all he has a distinct widow's peak instead of the straight hair-line of this sitter, and he has a fleshier, less austere face. Also he always wears his Garter ribbon and George, and carries his staff as Lord Chamberlain.
The use of a table-book leaf for the support in the early 1620s is interesting; see Gerbier, Cat. No. 2 The use of pasteboard to provide supplementary support may be experimental, suggesting relatively little confidence in the 'new' material. Case packing, provided by the silversmith, would not normally be glued to the miniature." |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.133&A-1910 |
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| Record created | July 15, 2003 |
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