The artefact under examination is a lignum vitae pot with a silver repoussé lid, speculated to potentially have belonged to Mary Queen of Scots. Purchased anonymously, its provenance raises questions, as the middleman provided limited details regarding its history. The pot features significant symbolism, including motifs that may connect to the Virgin Mary and allude to Mary Stuart's life and affiliations with the prestigious Talbot family. Despite its intriguing decorations, a definitive link to Mary or later figures like Arbella Stuart remains unproven. The analysis emphasizes the importance of provenance in antique acquisitions.
Category: Subjects for discussion
The Adoration of the Kings
This post is a day late, but here are two beautiful full page miniatures by Simon Bening of his interpreation of the Adoration of the Kings on the Feast of the Epiphany. The first is from the da Costa Hours (MS M 399) now in the Morgan Library, New York. Adoration of the Kings. (folio… Continue reading The Adoration of the Kings
And there were shepherds in the fields …
f157verso Ms M399 the da Costa Hours (c1515); Simon Bening (1483/4 - 1561). The Morgan Library, New York. Simon Bening has chosen to depict the moment the single angel visits the shepherds as told by St Luke and St Matthew in the New Testament and has set the announcement to these humble men in a… Continue reading And there were shepherds in the fields …
Henriette: a Sketch of a Childhood – by Dr Jo Wilkinson
My grateful thanks to Dr Wilkinson for giving me the privilege of hosting this article that gives us a wonderful insight into the early life of Henriette d'Angleterre, the daughter of Charles I, and later wife of Philipe d'Orleans, brother of Louis XIV of France. Dr Wilkinson's last two books have been on Louis XIV… Continue reading Henriette: a Sketch of a Childhood – by Dr Jo Wilkinson
Monkey business at 16th century royal courts
In 1492 Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) sailed under the Spanish flag and discovered a whole new land. Six years later the Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama (1460 – 1524) reached India’s Malabar coast, which had been a centre of trade between Arab and far eastern merchants for at least fifteen hundred years. Columbus’s voyage west… Continue reading Monkey business at 16th century royal courts
Melanie V Taylor 