Portrait of a Swiss lady of 53, wearing lace and heavy jewellery

Description

Oval, oil on copper, 7.9cm x 6.5cm, inscribed upper right ÆTAT / 53 / Año 1633

The jewellery: collar of enamelled gold roundels set with gems alternating with scrolled entre deux with important pendant jewel attached, several rows of gold chain and girdle from 1590-1600. The pair of bracelets – usually given as wedding presents – indicate that the sitter is a married woman; the large stones in her rings are a sign of wealth.
Whereas the women in Italy liked to wear just one ring to draw attention to the beauty of the hand, those in the north would show off as many as they possessed. The dress and jewellery of the lady in this portrait are different from what was fashionable in France, England and Spain in the 1630s.

A print by Wenceslaus Hollar of 1649 shows a married woman from Zurich in similar dress and with ruffs at neck and wrists and with chains across bodice and girdle. Another print dated 1644 shows a Basle woman with a similar fur hat. As the German lands in 1633 were convulsed in the Thirty Years’ War it is likely that our sitter was outside the war zone. She may well be Swiss.