Painting of the Day: A Portrait of Mary Stuart, 1804

Mary Stuart
Denis Brownell Murphy, 1804
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mary Stuart (1542-87) succeeded to the Scottish throne in 1542. She was only six days old at the time. Mary’s life wasn’t a whole lot of fun after that. She had some family issues, you could say. She had a rocky relationship with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, and, also had some troubles with her husband for the one year that she was Queen Consort of France. Battles for the Scottish throne forced Mary flee to England in 1568. She had asked Elizabeth I for sanctuary and Elizabeth said, “Sure, honey. Come on over.” But, you see, Mary had already claimed Elizabeth’s throne as her own, so by the time she asked to “crash on Elizabeth’s couch,” Elizabeth was thinking that perhaps her cousin was a threat. So, by the time Mary arrived in England, she was effectively a prisoner of the English Queen. This ended with Mary being was executed in 1587, having been found guilty of plotting to overthrow Elizabeth.

Good times. 

This attractive enamel miniature depicts Mary Stuart—centuries after her death. It was made during a time in the Nineteenth Century when artists and jewelers were combining their skills and remembering the Seventeenth Century notion that enamel lasted much longer, and without fading, than oil paint. It’s the work of Denis Brownell Murphy who painted a series of images illustrating the lineage of the House of Stuart, beginning with Mary Queen of Scots. Mary is shown wearing a red embroidered dress with a high ruff, a gold cap and a cross at her neck. The frame is papier-mâché with ormolu mounts formed to resemble shells and a crown.

The Home Beautiful: "A Catte," by Mary, Queen of Scots c. 1569

A Catte
Mary Queen of Scots
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This embroidered canvas panel, dating to about 1569, was made by Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587) who was known as a skilled needleworker.

Mary has pictured a ginger cat with a mouse—set against a checkered floor. Her cipher is prominent. This piece, like much of the Queen’s needlework, was created between 1569 and 1584, during the period when Mary had fled from Scotland and was held captive in England by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Together with Shrewsbury’s wife, Mary Queen of Scots embroidered many such canvas panels which had been drawn out for her in black silk by an embroideress.

Mary based the figure of the cat on an image from a woodcut in” Icones Animalium” by Conrad Gesner--an illustrated tome of natural history which was published in Zurich in 1555. Some suggest that she picked the theme of “A Catte” to indicate that she saw herself as the mouse and Queen Elizabeth as her captor.

Mastery of Design: Mary of Teck’s Silver Jubilee Necklace and Earrings

Necklace and Earrings
Sixteenth to Nineteenth Century
English
Gold, Enamel, Pearls, Rubies, Emeralds
The Royal Collection

This necklace and earrings (part of a parure which also includes a brooch) is actually a culmination of over three hundred years of workmanship. A masterpiece of gold, delicately-colored enamel, pearls, rubies and emeralds in a pattern of scrolls and snakes, the original links of the necklace date to the Sixteenth Century.


The necklace’s original owner was Mary, Queen of Scots who passed it to her attendant, Mary Seton. Over the centuries, the necklace was passed from family to family and altered considerably, though always with careful consideration in keeping the style of the necklace cohesive. The necklace was extended and the brooch was added in the Eighteenth Century. In the Nineteenth Century, the matching earrings were created.

Bu the 1930’s the parure was in possession of the Countess Bathurst where it was noticed by Queen Mary who admired it greatly. In 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of George V and Mary of Teck, the parure was presented as a gift to the Queen.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Click image to enlarge.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Purse of Mary, Queen of Scots, 16th C.

Purse
Sixteenth Century
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

A shimmering masterwork of silk, embroidered in silver and gold thread, this pear-shaped purse is said to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots. The purse is adorned with a crossed sword and scepter below a crown. On the reverse, a dove with an olive branch has been embroidered below a scroll. The purse was bequeathed by Lord Belhaven,  who long asserted that the Sixteenth-Century piece belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, to Queen Victoria.

Mastery of Design: Mary of Teck’s Silver Jubilee Necklace and Earrings

Necklace and Earrings
Sixteenth to Nineteenth Century
English
Gold, Enamel, Pearls, Rubies, Emeralds
The Royal Collection

This necklace and earrings (part of a parure which also includes a brooch) is actually a culmination of over three hundred years of workmanship. A masterpiece of gold, delicately-colored enamel, pearls, rubies and emeralds in a pattern of scrolls and snakes, the original links of the necklace date to the Sixteenth Century.


The necklace’s original owner was Mary, Queen of Scots who passed it to her attendant, Mary Seton. Over the centuries, the necklace was passed from family to family and altered considerably, though always with careful consideration in keeping the style of the necklace cohesive. The necklace was extended and the brooch was added in the Eighteenth Century. In the Nineteenth Century, the matching earrings were created.

Bu the 1930’s the parure was in possession of the Countess Bathurst where it was noticed by Queen Mary who admired it greatly. In 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of George V and Mary of Teck, the parure was presented as a gift to the Queen.

The Home Beautiful: "A Catte," by Mary, Queen of Scots c. 1569

A Catte
Mary Queen of Scots
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This embroidered canvas panel, dating to about 1569, was made by Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587) who was known as a skilled needleworker.

Mary has pictured a ginger cat with a mouse—set against a checkered floor. Her cipher is prominent. This piece, like much of the Queen’s needlework, was created between 1569 and 1584, during the period when Mary had fled from Scotland and was held captive in England by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Together with Shrewsbury’s wife, Mary Queen of Scots embroidered many such canvas panels which had been drawn out for her in black silk by an embroideress.

Mary based the figure of the cat on an image from a woodcut in” Icones Animalium” by Conrad Gesner--an illustrated tome of natural history which was published in Zurich in 1555. Some suggest that she picked the theme of “A Catte” to indicate that she saw herself as the mouse and Queen Elizabeth as her captor.

Painting of the Day: A Portrait of Mary Stuart, 1804

Mary Stuart
Denis Brownell Murphy, 1804
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mary Stuart (1542-87) succeeded to the Scottish throne in 1542. She was only six days old at the time. Mary’s life wasn’t a whole lot of fun after that. She had some family issues, you could say. She had a rocky relationship with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, and, also had some troubles with her husband for the one year that she was Queen Consort of France. Battles for the Scottish throne forced Mary flee to England in 1568. She had asked Elizabeth I for sanctuary and Elizabeth said, “Sure, honey. Come on over.” But, you see, Mary had already claimed Elizabeth’s throne as her own, so by the time she asked to “crash on Elizabeth’s couch,” Elizabeth was thinking that perhaps her cousin was a threat. So, by the time Mary arrived in England, she was effectively a prisoner of the English Queen. This ended with Mary being was executed in 1587, having been found guilty of plotting to overthrow Elizabeth.

Good times. 

This attractive enamel miniature depicts Mary Stuart—centuries after her death. It was made during a time in the Nineteenth Century when artists and jewelers were combining their skills and remembering the Seventeenth Century notion that enamel lasted much longer, and without fading, than oil paint. It’s the work of Denis Brownell Murphy who painted a series of images illustrating the lineage of the House of Stuart, beginning with Mary Queen of Scots. Mary is shown wearing a red embroidered dress with a high ruff, a gold cap and a cross at her neck. The frame is papier-mâché with ormolu mounts formed to resemble shells and a crown.