#unknown sitter

EEEEEEEE!!! Tell me about this miniature please.

It's none of Henry's wives so I would like it to be Mary Boleyn.

It's got a look of Catherine Carey in the chin and Lettice in the eyes.

Roland Hui said it was her, but he also said that bird with the abominable eye dress was Mary Howard, and you know how that turned out!

He owes me one!

This miniature is located in Royal Ontario Museum:

And tbh until I saw pictures of it upon their webpage, I was convinced it was a later copy. Now I am not so certain of it.

But I agree with their dating of c.1525-1527. (which doesn't exclude Mary Boleyn, because we are uncertain of the exact date of her birth. Imo c.1498-1503 is most likely when she was born.)

So we have to discuss the similiarities to another miniature by Horenbout where the lady has very similiar features and same posture.

So similiar I thought it was original and this one a copy.

But if that is not the case then we're looking at very similiar miniatures but not done at same time, fashion of gable hood is bit different. The one on right is c.1526, the one on left is more towards c.1527.

So in theory, it could be same person in two different miniatures.

You might think features bit different. However, we have two miniatures of Catherine of Aragon by Horenbout, and the differences are not just because she wears spanish outfit in one of them:

The face is also having some differenences.

So, how likely is it that Mary Boleyn had not one, but two miniatures of herself made? Using the most expensive natural ultramarine pigment, in c. 1525-1527.

Well, actually not that bad, given the strong love for art William Carrey (her 1st husband) had. He died in great debt due to his spending not just on art.

But if so, we'd expect two have matching miniatures of him.He'd be around thirty. But they might have not survived. Or got separated.

This is him from 1526:

So if we found matching miniatures of him, I might start believe it bit more. But I more expect we're going to find portrait matching this one.

But imo labelling it is either Mary or Anne Boleyn is just guessing.

You don't have single thing which would prove it.

But there is something which might point against it.

On museum's webpage I noted something about the outfit. We have wheels around the bodice:

Wheels also are part of the black necklace.

And under certain angle it seems that there could ahve also been wheel in middle of the necklace:

Lots of wheels.

The medal clearly shows female figure in period outfit(not so important).

And tbh I think whomever can recognize the flower must be expert in plants..but I am not one. Foliage is kind of typical for Tudor portraits of 1530s and part of 1520s.

Obviously whomever had this painted had money and lots of it. (or they spent as crazy). But I'd check english noble houses and see if any had wheel as coat of arms.

-Which neither Boleyns nor Carrey's do.

Or people named Catherine. Because wheel was asociated with St. Catherine. Obviously it cannot be Catherine of Aragon, because she was 25 in 1510.

The wheels are imo the main clue right now.

Portrait of a youth in a striped waistcoat (unknown French master, 1790s)

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow