Elizabeth Queen of England as Protectress of Holland in 1585, Jefferys, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script over two lines "Habit of Elizabeth Queen of England as Protectress of the States of Holland, in 1585." The queen stands facing us in a small crown and a white ruff, holding a gold scepter in her right hand, on the viewer's left, and a blue orb with a cross in her left. A red robe falls from her shoulders over a pale blue gown set with jewels and edged in pearls, and her white sleeves are tied with green bows down their length. Jeweled chains hang over the bodice.

The French caption below reads "L'Habillement d'Elisabette Reine d'Angleterre, comme Protectrice des Etats de la Hollande.", meaning the dress of Elizabeth, Queen of England, as Protectress of the States of Holland. The plate number 203 is engraved at lower right, and no artist or engraver is named.

The plate belongs to the second volume of Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern. Particularly Old English Dresses, published in London in 1757 by Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the Strand. The title page states that the figures were taken after the designs of Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and the work carried a parallel French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, which explains the two languages on every plate. In 1585, by the Treaty of Nonsuch, Elizabeth took the rebel provinces of the Netherlands under her protection and sent an English army under the Earl of Leicester, while declining the sovereignty they offered her.

A single standing figure on a generous margin, it suits a simple mount and frame and works well alone or in a group with other plates from the series.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.