A Lady Holding a Jewel

English School, 17thC

Summary

Three quarter right side portrait of a widow, who wears a lace falling collar, a black dress with sleeves slashed to reveal a white lining, and a black cap; her right hand is raised to hold a ring set with a square jewel which she wears on a narrow cord around her neck. This painting is part of a family set of four in the collection of Manchester Art Gallery (accession numbers 1947.8-11) which were the subject of research initiated by the Art Detective UK website in 2020. While the sitter for this portrait has not been identified, it could be that as two of the portraits are of a betrothed or married couple, and the third portrait is of the mother of the husband, then this painting might be the mother of the wife. Therefore there is a tentative suggestion that this is a portrait of Grace Millett, née Newman, who was buried at Denham, Buckinghamshire, in 1666.