The British Museum has launched a fund-raising marketing campaign to amass the distinctive gold and enamel heart-shaped pendant commemorating the wedding of Henry VIII to his first spouse Katherine of Aragon found by a steel detectorist in 2019. The price is £3.5 million ($4.7 million) and must raised by April 2026 with a view to maintain the pendant from getting into a non-public assortment.
The pendant is made from 24K gold and is a locket enameled in crimson and white with an entwined Tudor rose and pomegranate, emblem of Katherine of Aragon, and one facet and the initials “H” and “Okay” entwined with a ribbon on the opposite facet. A banner on the backside of each side comprises the inscription + TOVS + IORS (the French “toujours” that means “at all times”) in crimson enamel lettering.
The locket hangs from a series of 75 hyperlinks 17.2 inches lengthy. It’s hooked up by a gloved hand clenched in a fist with a cuff of white enamel adorned with black dots suggesting ermine fur. A cloud form above the cuff of the glove suggests it represents the diving hand of God, image of affection and The chain and hand are additionally made from 24K gold.
Based mostly on the model of the Lombardic script and ornamental designs, British Museum researchers decided the locket was made after 1509 and earlier than 1530. Evaluation of the metals and enamel additionally verify they date to the early sixteenth century. Henry married Katherine in 1509, banished her from court docket in 1531 and divorced her in 1533, so the date vary is correct on the nostril for the interval when courtiers would showcase their devotion to the king and queen.
Historic analysis led by the British Museum has discovered that it could have been commissioned to have fun the betrothal of Princess Mary, then two years outdated, to Francis, Dauphin of France, an eight-month-old child, in 1518. The betrothal was made to safe the Treaty of London, a non-aggression pact signed by England and France in October 1518 that was later ratified by the opposite main powers of Europe. The betrothal was repudiated in 1521 when England joined an alliance with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who then declared conflict on France. The following yr, Mary, now six years outdated, was betrothed to the Holy Roman Emperor as an alternative, her 22-year-old cousin. That engagement ultimately fell by the wayside too.
In addition to commemorating Henry and Katherine’s love, ambition and Katherine’s significance as Henry’s first queen, the Tudor Coronary heart Pendant additionally unveils this little-told a part of Mary’s story.
A robust witness to pivotal years in English historical past, the Tudor Coronary heart Pendant affords a tantalising glimpse into the splendour of Henry VIII’s early court docket and celebrates chivalry, love and dynastic hope.
To donate to the Tudor Coronary heart Acquisition Attraction, click on right here.
