A Daring Portrait Miniature by Rowland Lockey | Miniatures from the Bearsted Collection

In this exquisitely preserved early Jacobean miniature of an unknown lady, court fashion meets sartorial fantasy. Long misattributed to John Shute, its refined handling of lace, pearls and facial modelling aligns more closely with Rowland Lockey, Hilliard’s gifted apprentice. Set in an ornate locket, the miniature reveals the intimate, secretive and imaginative side of Jacobean portraiture.

Attributed to Rowland Lockey, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1605
Watercolour on vellum laid on a playing card
In double gold locket, enamelled with floral arabesques in natural colours on a mauve ground, possibly seventeenth-century
45mm high (oval)