print
- Museum number
- O,5.143
- Description
-
Emblematic portrait of Sir Thomas Tresham; centre, half-length portrait of Tresham in middle age, he transcribes two psalms with his right hand and holds a skull in his left, a seal hangs around his neck; to the left, symbols of the snares of the world, below, juvenile activities represented by a recorder, stringbow, longbow, crossbow, dice, playing cards, literature such as Petrarch and a horn of suretyship; above, more serious pursuits symbolised by the subject titles, such as geometry, farming represented by a plough and crook and building by a set square, compass and property deeds, wealth appears as a sack of coins; above this, a richly sleeved arm offers a globe beneath the word, 'LAQUEUS'; to the right, symbols of Tresham's spiritual life and conversion to Catholicism; panel depicting Christ on the cross, symbols of the Passion including the five wounds, the scourging pillar surmounted by the cock that crew for Peter's denial, the spear and sponge and the cup used to collect Christ's blood; below, reference to the Doctors of the Church, the chalice of the Mass and the host and a set of rosary beads; extensively lettered with captions; in a roundel. 1585
Engraving
- Production date
- 1585
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 147 millimetres (trimmed)
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- Lines to the left of the roundel suggest that another print was engraved on the same plate.This was not published in any Hogenberg literature until 2009 (New Hollstein), perhaps because his signature, on a scroll underneath the hand holding the globe, is tiny and very faintly inscribed. This emblem of Thomas Tresham has been analysed by Gerard Kilroy in connection with a forthcoming publication on emblems; he dates it about 1595 (correspondence 2006). This is the only known impression.
For the horn of suretyship, see Malcolm Jones in 'Print Quarterly' XVI 1999, pp.219-28
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1753
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- O,5.143
