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1 of 253523 objects
Attributed to Denis Brownell Murphy (c. 1745-1842)
Portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Mary, Queen of Scots c.1830-40
Watercolour on ivory laid on card | 9.1 x 6.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 421450
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A damaged label on the reverse identifies the sitter as Mary, Queen of Scots, painted by Federico Zuccaro (c.1541 – 1609) after the young Queen had left the French court. An enamel by Denis Brownwell Murphy showing the same sitter, but with variations in costume and headdress, forms part of a historical series by him celebrating the Stuart royal line dating from 1804 in the Gilbert Collection (Coffin and Hoffstetter 2000, cat. no. 42A). It is described there as being after a painting in Scotland, although the enamel has lost its original backing paper. The sitter in this miniature is likely to have been intended to represent Mary, Queen of Scots, but the image forms no part of her accepted iconography.
A note kept with the miniature is inscribed in ink: Taken out and cleaned on the 19th Feby 1844 Mr E. Tylee / Frame regilt July 1854; another note is inscribed: Put into frame again 23rd March 1878 A.W. Tylee. The initials AWT have been carved in the reverse of the frame with the signature Anne White Tylee beneath.Provenance
First recorded in the Royal Collection during the twentieth century
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour on ivory laid on card
Measurements
9.1 x 6.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
8.8 x 6.0 cm (sight)
22.9 x 19.9 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Lady Jane Grey, previously identified as
