Elias Ashmole was one of the founding members of the Royal Society, a collector and antiquary. On the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 under Charles II he was appointed to the College of Arms as Windsor Herald. In this position he devoted himself to the study of the history of the Order of the Garter, which had been a special interest of his since the 1650s. The resulting publication, The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, published in 1672, was a lavish folio with illustrations by Wenceslaus Hollar. A significant portion of the work was written in 1665 while Ashmole was living in the country to escape the Great Plague which was then raging in London.
The view shown is of the Feast of the Order in St George’s Hall at the time of Charles II. This particular view of the old St George’s Hall was used as the basis for the design of the new one, restored after the fire of 1992.