Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
Her gown is of the silver-blue colour particularly fashionable at Court during this period, as was her golden brown scarf, whilst her jewellery reveals her as a person of high status. Pearl importers were first established in London at Hatton Gardens in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, whose prerogative it was to be dressed and portrayed in pearls of the greatest size and profusion. A glance at the portraits of Van Dyck and Lely in the following century show that this admiration for the pearl had not lessened, and above all jewellery they are the most frequently displayed by portrait sitters. Their continuing popularity rested not only on their beauty and value, but on their allegorical interpretation as an emblem of purity and virtue. She also wears a large ruby brooch on her sleeve. Many cultures have long considered ruby a stone of royalty.
When worn as a talisman, a ruby’s mystical properties extended to personal protection. People believed wearing the stone on the left, the heart side, as this sitter does, would allow the bearers to live peacefully. None could take their land or rank. The blood-coloured stone would preserve them from all perils.
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles ll, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: 38 x 33.25 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: North England private collection.
Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
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Portrait of a Lady C.1665, Circle of Sir Peter Lely.
