Portrait of an Unknown Lady
- Artist: Hans Eworth
- Date: c.1565–8
- Medium: Oil paint on oak
- Dimensions: support: 998 x 619 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Portrait of an Unknown Lady” by Hans Eworth, painted around 1565–68. The sitter is draped in a richly embroidered dress, the deep rose‑madder fabric studded with pearls and ruby‑enamelled buttons that signal her high status. Her hands rest at waist level, a pose common in the mid‑sixteenth‑century portrait, and she lifts a golden cameo suspended on a black ribbon. The cameo shows Prudence, one of the cardinal virtues, clutching a crystal mirror, a symbolic emblem of wisdom.
An inscription in the upper right—“ÆTATIS X… M.D.LXV…”—dates the work, confirming the timeframe. A large heraldic coat of arms, added later, originally belonged to Lady Eleanor Brandon, but she died in 1547, so the lady depicted cannot be her. The identity remains unclear; some scholars have suggested Margaret Clifford, but the evidence is circumstantial.
The painting’s oak panel, about 1 m wide, carries the rich jewels, a ruby‑set pendant at her throat, and a double gold chain of enamelled links. The background, once a lighter tone, is now covered in a dark brown wash, and a small blank shield in the corner hints at a reserved space for the later coat of arms. The work is a striking example of Tudor portraiture, combining fashion, symbolism, and the sitter’s elusive narrative.
See it in person
Portrait of an Unknown Lady is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
