Victorian Silver and Gold mounted brooch with miniature of Marie de Medici

The dimensions:
Brooch size: 4.1 x 3.5 x 1.2 cm
The miniature size: 2.2 cm in diameter
Weight: 10.3 grams

Seed pearls -
Quantity: 23
Size: 2mm - 3 mm

Condition: Generally fine condition in keeping with its age.

ITEM LOCATION : United Kingdom
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The Victorian period often drew inspiration from the past in Art and this delightful brooch illustrates that taste for historicism. The finely painted, colourful image of a lady in 17th century royal robes with intricate ruff is most probably intended to show Marie de Medici one of the most colourful and interesting women of the 17th century.

Born into the powerful and rich Medici family she was married in 1600 to Henri IV of France becoming Queen and bearing him numerous children including Louis XIII and Henrietta Maria who would marry Charles I of England. Following the assassination of her husband she acted as Regent for her son and was noted for her constant political intriguing even after her son reached his majority. Forced into exile in England and finally Germany she was a noted patron of the arts and left an enduring legacy.

Along with Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, Marie de Medici was a topic of fascination in the 19th century and was often portrayed in miniatures and cameos of the period.