Panel Painting Edward IV (arched)
Object number
LDSAL320
Artist/Designer/Maker
Unknown artist
Production date
Post 1510
Material
oak
oil paint
oil paint
Technique
Oil On Panel
Dimensions
height: 320mm
width: 200mm
width: 200mm
Location
Burlington House - (on display)
Inscriptions
Inscription content
Edward’ rex quart
References
Reference (free text)
pp.426-429
Reference (free text)
David Gaimster, Sarah McCarthy, and Bernard Nurse, eds., Making History, Antiquaries in Britain, 1707-2007 (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2007), pp. 82-4, no. 48.Illustrations, pp. 82, 84.
Reference (free text)
ExaminationTreatment ProposalTreatment ReportHard copy of report in Object History File. Scanned report attached to this Mobydoc Record as a PDF.
Reference (controlled)
The Paston Treasure: Microcosm of the Known world (2018). [Exhibition]. Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven. 15 February 2018 - 27 May 2018.
Oil on oak panel portrait of King Edward IV, within arch-topped integral frame. Inscription below.
This portrait, and its companion, Richard III (arched) LDSAL321, are painted on panels cut from the same vertical board taken from an oak tree felled after 1510, probably in the eastern Baltic region of Europe.
This panel portrait of Edward IV (r. 1461-70, 1471-83) is one of the earliest and finest to survive, and although it is not a contemporary likeness, it is probable that its lost prototype was. Edward wears a gown of black cloth of gold with fur lining and hanging sleeves, under which can be seen a black tunic with high red collar. Gowns such as these were made from imported cloth of gold, the most expensive and luxurious product of the contemporary European silk-weaving industry. The painting provides a detailed account of the king's jewels including the three trefoil pendants on his chest, one above the other, each with a trio of pearls, which may represent Edward's particular devotion to the Trinity. The jewel on the king's hat is unique to this example of Edward's portrait and appears to represent the rose en soleil, the sunburst version of the Yorkist motif with which Edward is particularly associated.
This panel portrait of Edward IV (r. 1461-70, 1471-83) is one of the earliest and finest to survive, and although it is not a contemporary likeness, it is probable that its lost prototype was. Edward wears a gown of black cloth of gold with fur lining and hanging sleeves, under which can be seen a black tunic with high red collar. Gowns such as these were made from imported cloth of gold, the most expensive and luxurious product of the contemporary European silk-weaving industry. The painting provides a detailed account of the king's jewels including the three trefoil pendants on his chest, one above the other, each with a trio of pearls, which may represent Edward's particular devotion to the Trinity. The jewel on the king's hat is unique to this example of Edward's portrait and appears to represent the rose en soleil, the sunburst version of the Yorkist motif with which Edward is particularly associated.