Portrait of Letitia, Lady Sandys, née Tipping (1699-1779), three-quarter-length, in peeress robes

Letitia, daughter of Sir Thomas Tipping and his wife Anne Cheke, married Samuel Sandys, 1st Lord Sandys, Baron Ombersley in 1725. The couple went on to have ten children. She is depicted here in peeress robes, the ceremonial costume required for members of the aristocracy on state occasions. These robes had been standardised at the end of the Sixteenth Century. For women the costume was a long-trained crimson velvet mantle, edged with miniver. The length of the wearer’s train denoted their rank. As a baroness, Letitia would have had a train of three feet, and the back of her cape would have been adorned with two rows of ermine. In comparison, a duchess was allowed a train of six feet with a luxurious four rows of ermine. It is possible that this portrait was painted to celebrate the elevation of her husband to his baronetcy in 1743.