Martyr and Defender

A double-sided portrait set to a gold pendant within glazed compartments, circa 1706. It contains grisaille monochrome portraits of Charles 1 and Queen Anne. For many the execution of of King Charles I in 1649 (1648 according to the Old Style calendar) was a crime and royalists wore memorial jewels in support of him and his family long after his death. The miniature of Charles I, after a portrait by Van Dyck, depicts the monarch uncrowned, with falling lace collar. The other side depicts his granddaughter Queen Anne, crowned. The Queen’s image is based closely on her 1703 coronation painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, a likeness that was distributed widely in print. Both wear the Most Noble Order of the Garter, a regal symbol of continuity. Thus Charles is the Martyr and Anne is the Defender of Anglicanism. It measures one inch by 2/3 of an inch. Provenance – from the estate of Lord Harlech.

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