Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher
Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher
The Property of a Lady
Attributed to Hieronimos Custodis
Portrait of Sir John Harington of Kelston (1561–1612), three-quarter length, in black with a ruff and a sword
Lot Closed
December 9, 02:23 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of a Lady
Attributed to Hieronimos Custodis
Born Antwerp, active in London circa 1587 - 1593
Portrait of Sir John Harington of Kelston (1561–1612), three-quarter length, in black with a ruff and a sword
dated upper left: ANNO DNI. 1592:
oil on oak panel
unframed: 83.9 x 62.2 cm.; 33 x 24½ in.
framed: 101.8 x 80.7 cm.; 40⅛ x 31¾ in.
Unidentified sale, lot 135 [or 183] (as Marcus Gheeraerts; both according to an old catalogue cutting on the reverse);
J.B. Goed, Esq.;
Acquired in the early 1970s by the late husband of the present owner.
This painting relates closely to two portraits of Sir John Harington attributed to Custodis, both of which date to 1590–95: one, which was last offered in these Rooms, 2 May 2012, lot 43, in which the sitter faces in the opposite direction;1 and the other, a double-portrait with Harington's wife, Mary Rogers, which was sold at Christie's, London, 2 May 2013, lot 281, in which the sitter's pose is almost identical,2 though he does not wear the large ring that appears on his thumb, here.
Harington was a prominent member of Elizabeth I's court, and one of the Queen's godsons. Born in Kelston, Somerset, his father, John Harington (d. 1582), was a poet and his mother, Isabella Markham (d. 1579), was a gentlewoman of the Queen's Privy Chamber. Harington served under the Earl of Essex in Ireland but is best remembered today for his literary work as a poet, epigrammatist and translator. Harington dedicated the first complete translation of Orlando Furioso, Ludovico Ariosto's epic romance poem, to Elizabeth I in 1591, and his translation of Book VI of Virgil's Aeneid to James I in 1604. Harington is also credited with the invention of the water-closet.
1 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_John_Harington,_attributed_to_Hieronimo_Custodis.png
