Lot Essay
As Sir Harris Nicolas noted in his memoir of the life of Sir Christopher Hatton, 'like so many men who have risen to the highest rank in England, Sir Christopher Hatton owed little save the rank of gentleman to his birth' (Nicolas, op. cit., p. 1). The third son of minor landholders in Northamptonshire, he trained as a lawyer, but seems to have owed his rise to fame, at least originally, because he caught the eye of the young Queen Elizabeth while playing the part of 'Master of the Game' in a masque at the Inns of Court which also included Lord Robert Dudley, the future Earl of Leicester. Hatton was then 21 years of age, tall, handsome, 'graceful in his person and an accomplished dancer' (ibid, p. 3).
His progression at court was meteoric, so much so that rumours began to circulate about the true nature of his relationship with 'the Virgin Queen'. He was soon made a Gentleman Pensioner and in 1572 he was appointed Captain of that body. In 1578 he was knighted, and then appointed Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household and member of the Privy Council. The queen made numerous grants of land to Hatton and on several occasions loaned him money to help with his seemingly endless debts. He finished his career as Lord Chancellor, a position which he accepted a mere four years before his death in 1591.
It is well-known that Queen Elizabeth was attracted to a number of her male courtiers, and revelled in their seeming devotion to her. However, it is notable that among all her favourites, Sir Christopher Hatton was the only one who remained a bachelor all his life and devoted himself almost entirely to her. The correspondence between Hatton and the Queen shows a considerable intimacy, and Hatton spent large sums of money presenting jewels to her which were of a particular significance for an event or which had a hidden meaning. Among the gifts he gave to her, in 1577 there was a 'juell of gold wherein is a dog leading a man over a bridge' (Scarisbrick, op. cit., p. 133). In 1584 he gave 'an attire for the hedd, conteyning VII pieces of golde, three of them being crowns imperiall, garnished with small diamonds, rubyes, perles and ophals, on thone side, and on thother IV peces, being victoryes, garnished with diamonds, rubyes, perles and ophalles' (ibid, p. 118). In 1589 he gave a collar with scallop shells and fishes (ibid, p. 122). There were numerous other gifts.
Sadly, the fact that these gifts were made of such precious and easily convertible materials meant that they were often broken up to be refashioned, or merely sold when the owner's finances took a turn for the worse. Today, the most numerous survivors of Elizabethan jewels are, in fact, portraits of the queen herself (Hackenbroch, op. cit., pp. 269-270). This is due in part to the rise of the cult of personality, encouraged by the queen in the second half of her reign. These miniature and cameo portraits of her were given as diplomatic gifts or as tokens of affection to friends and servants as part of a traditional exchange between the monarch and those who surrounded her (ibid, p. 293).
The present double-sided cameo is an extremely rare survival of an Elizabethan jewel particularly as it seems to be the only known example of a cameo portrait of a commoner. It represents, on the obverse, a three quarter bust-length portrait of Hatton which follows closely his full-length miniature by Nicholas Hilliard, thought to have been painted in circa 1588-91. In both portraits, Hatton appears to wear the insignia of the Garter, to which he was elected in 1588 (for the Hilliard miniature, see Auerbach, loc. cit.). Therefore, unless this miniature was created posthumously, it must date also date between 1588, and Hatton's death in the 1591. The reverse of the cameo is a delicate representation of a hind - which was part of Hatton's crest - standing in a landscape. Interestingly, it was Hatton's investment in Sir Francis Drake's expedition which prompted the latter to re-name his second ship, The Golden Hind.
Although there are several names of gem-cutters who are said to have worked in Elizabethan England, none has been definitively connected to extant pieces. It is also difficult to know the exact circumstances of the commissioning of this cameo. It is possible that it was commissioned by Hatton himself, to be given as a gift. It is also possible that it was commissioned by someone such as the queen herself, as a gift to her devoted courtier. It was eventually found among the possessions of the heirs of Lewis, 3rd Lord Mordaunt (1538-1601) who, although a contemporary courtier of Hatton's, is not known to have been a particularly intimate acquaintance.
His progression at court was meteoric, so much so that rumours began to circulate about the true nature of his relationship with 'the Virgin Queen'. He was soon made a Gentleman Pensioner and in 1572 he was appointed Captain of that body. In 1578 he was knighted, and then appointed Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household and member of the Privy Council. The queen made numerous grants of land to Hatton and on several occasions loaned him money to help with his seemingly endless debts. He finished his career as Lord Chancellor, a position which he accepted a mere four years before his death in 1591.
It is well-known that Queen Elizabeth was attracted to a number of her male courtiers, and revelled in their seeming devotion to her. However, it is notable that among all her favourites, Sir Christopher Hatton was the only one who remained a bachelor all his life and devoted himself almost entirely to her. The correspondence between Hatton and the Queen shows a considerable intimacy, and Hatton spent large sums of money presenting jewels to her which were of a particular significance for an event or which had a hidden meaning. Among the gifts he gave to her, in 1577 there was a 'juell of gold wherein is a dog leading a man over a bridge' (Scarisbrick, op. cit., p. 133). In 1584 he gave 'an attire for the hedd, conteyning VII pieces of golde, three of them being crowns imperiall, garnished with small diamonds, rubyes, perles and ophals, on thone side, and on thother IV peces, being victoryes, garnished with diamonds, rubyes, perles and ophalles' (ibid, p. 118). In 1589 he gave a collar with scallop shells and fishes (ibid, p. 122). There were numerous other gifts.
Sadly, the fact that these gifts were made of such precious and easily convertible materials meant that they were often broken up to be refashioned, or merely sold when the owner's finances took a turn for the worse. Today, the most numerous survivors of Elizabethan jewels are, in fact, portraits of the queen herself (Hackenbroch, op. cit., pp. 269-270). This is due in part to the rise of the cult of personality, encouraged by the queen in the second half of her reign. These miniature and cameo portraits of her were given as diplomatic gifts or as tokens of affection to friends and servants as part of a traditional exchange between the monarch and those who surrounded her (ibid, p. 293).
The present double-sided cameo is an extremely rare survival of an Elizabethan jewel particularly as it seems to be the only known example of a cameo portrait of a commoner. It represents, on the obverse, a three quarter bust-length portrait of Hatton which follows closely his full-length miniature by Nicholas Hilliard, thought to have been painted in circa 1588-91. In both portraits, Hatton appears to wear the insignia of the Garter, to which he was elected in 1588 (for the Hilliard miniature, see Auerbach, loc. cit.). Therefore, unless this miniature was created posthumously, it must date also date between 1588, and Hatton's death in the 1591. The reverse of the cameo is a delicate representation of a hind - which was part of Hatton's crest - standing in a landscape. Interestingly, it was Hatton's investment in Sir Francis Drake's expedition which prompted the latter to re-name his second ship, The Golden Hind.
Although there are several names of gem-cutters who are said to have worked in Elizabethan England, none has been definitively connected to extant pieces. It is also difficult to know the exact circumstances of the commissioning of this cameo. It is possible that it was commissioned by Hatton himself, to be given as a gift. It is also possible that it was commissioned by someone such as the queen herself, as a gift to her devoted courtier. It was eventually found among the possessions of the heirs of Lewis, 3rd Lord Mordaunt (1538-1601) who, although a contemporary courtier of Hatton's, is not known to have been a particularly intimate acquaintance.