Medieval and Renaissance Earrings

	Earrings
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Earrings appear to have been fashionable in the Early Middle Ages, and then not at all through the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages -- and then become trendy again in the 16th century. Oon more hier of stature þan x feete, blac of body, with houndis teeth, bisshop of that Oracle or praieng place, to vs appiered, of whom the earis perced and ouches and bies erin hangyng, and clad was with skynnes. Letter of Alexander to Aristotle (Worcester F. 172, ll. 677-682) When they do appear in western European artwork in the Late Middle Ages, earrings are a sign that the individual wearing them is not part of the norm -- the "other," to borrow the term from "Marked Difference: Earrings and 'The Other' in Fifteenth-Century Flemish Art" in Encountering Medieval Textiles and Dress -- often indicating that the person being depicted or described is meant to be Eastern or African. Note, for example, the use of earrings on scenes of the Adoration of the Magi. (Think of it as a sort of late medieval artistic shorthand for "exotic," rather than a depiction of something that followed the conventions of western European fashions at that time.) El Piercing has detailed images of multiple piercings in ears in 16th century portraits. What follows are links to information about extant earrings, as well as depictions of women (and men) wearing earrings. I've also started the process of moving these to separate pages for Ostrogothic earrings, Merovingian Frankish earrings, Lombardic earrings, Byzantine earrings, Persian earrings, Egyptian & Syrian earrings, English Renaissance earrings, Italian Renaissance earrings, French Renaissance earrings, and the earrings that mark exotic or Oriental characters. Ostrogothic earrings Earrings with polyhedral beads (Met 98.11.94-95), 5th century Gold earrings with garnets (Cleveland 1975.48), 5th century An earring from the Domagagno Treasure, late 5th-early 6th century Gold earrings with 14-sided garnet beads (Met Met 22.50.9 and Met 22.50.10), 5th-6th century Merovingian earrings Gold and silver-gilt earrings with garnets, 5th-7th century (another view) One of a pair of gold cloisonné earrings (Met 17.191.86 and Met 17.191.87) with garnets with patterned foil backings, c. 500-550 Gold earrings in the Bréban grave group, early to mid-6th century Gold earrings from the Artres grave group, early to mid-6th century Merovingian Merovingian earring, c. 570 Earrings of Queen Aregund (also here and here), c. 570 Silver hoop earrings with polyhedral beads (Met 17.193.105 and Met 17.193.106), c. 675-725 Gold earrings with garnets (Met 17.191.1 and Met 17.191.2) in gold with garnets with foil backings, 2nd half of the 8th century Lombardic earrings Gold earring with rubies, emeralds, and garnets (V&A 6570-1855), 6th-7th century Gold earring (Met 17.191.6) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century Earring (Met 17.191.9) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century Earring (Met 17.191.10) of the “basket” variety in gold with garnet and glass, 6th-7th century Gold earring (Met 95.15.84), 6th-7th century Gold earring (Met 95.15.85), 6th-7th century Gold earring (Met 95.15.86) with glass paste, 6th-7th centuries Gold earring (Met 95.15.118) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century Gold earring (Met 95.15.119) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century Gold earrings (Met 95.15.124 and Met 95.15.125) of the “basket” variety with glass and pearls, 6th-7th century Gold earring (Met 95.15.127) of the “basket” variety with a six-pointed star shape, 6th-7th century Basket earring (Walters 57.475), glass paste on gold, late 6th-7th century Basket earring (Walters 57.476), glass paste and garnet on gold, late 6th-7th century Basket earring (Walters 57.1662), gold, 7th century Gold earring with garnet & glass inlays (British Museum M&ME 1872,6-4,595), 7th century Gold earrings with enamel, pearls, and glass, 7th century German earring (V&A M.121-1939), 6th-7th century Gold Avar earrings (Met 17.191.4 and Met 17.191.5), c. 550-650 Gold earrings from a 7th century grave Byzantine earrings Basket-shaped earrings, c. 6th-7th century Gold earrings with pearls and sapphires (Met 17.190.145 and Met 17.190.146), 6th-7th century Gold earrings with pearls (Met 17.190.1665 and Met 17.190.1666), 6th-7th century Crescent-shaped earrings, c. 500-700 Crescent-shaped earrings (British Museum M&ME AF.338), gold with enamel panels depicting birds, 10th century Crescent-shaped earring (Cleveland 1946.493) in gold with enamel, 11th century Russian crescent-shaped silver-gilt earrings with cloisonné rosettes, 12th century A pair of Kievan Rus' or Byzantine crescent-shaped earrings with rosettes in cloisonné enamel and gold (Met 17.190.2051 and Met 17.190.2052), 12th century Egyptian and Syrian earrings Gold earrings (Met 30.95.38 and Met 30.95.39) with filigree and applied decoration, Egypt, 11th century Gold earrings (Met 1978.142.1 and Met 1978.142.2), Egypt, 11th century Electrum earring (Met 1979.289 a, b), Egypt, 11th century Gold earring with filigree and granulation (Met 74.51.3607), Egypt or Syria, 11th century Syrian earrings (Met 1979.278.2a, b), 11th century A Fatimid gold earring, Syria, 12th century Persian earrings Gold earrings (Met 1984.175.41 a, b) from Sasanian Iran, c. 3rd-7th century Gold earrings with filigree and granulation (Met 1979.7.3a, b), Iran, 1st half of the 11th century Gold earring (Met 1979.7.4), Iran, 1st half of the 11th century Gold earring with filigree and granulation (Met 1979.96), 1st half of the 11th century Sheet gold earring with granulation (Met 52.4.15), Iran, 11th-12th century Earrings (Met 52.4.11 and Met 52.4.12) in gold wire and sheets with filigree, Iran, 11th-12th century Earrings (Met 52.4.13) in sheet gold with granulation, Iran, 11th-12th century Gold earrings (Met 1980.541.9), 11th-12th century Gold earring (Met 1980.541.10), 11th-12th century A pair of crescent-shaped earrings (Met 2006.273a and Met 2006.273b) in gold with filigree and granulation, made in Iran in the 11th-12th century Gold earring (Met 1980.541.7), 11th-13th century Gold earring (Met 1980.541.8), 11th-13th century Gold earring (Met 1984.175.46), Iran, 11th-13th century Gold earring (Met 1984.175.44), Iran, 11th-13th century Four pairs of Seljuk earrings, northeast Persia, c. 12th century Gold wire earring with filigree (Met 52.4.4), Iran, 12th century Gold earrings (Met 1972.218.2a, b), 12th century Gold wire earrings with filigree and pale stone (Met 52.4.1 and Met 52.4.2), Iran, 12th century A pair of Seljuk gold gem-set earrings, Iran, 12th-13th century Gold earring (Met 22.201) in the form of an owl in filigree, Iran, 12th-13th century More earrings in gold wire with filigree from 12th-13th century Iran: Met 52.4.5, Met 52.4.6, Met 52.4.7, Met 52.4.8, Met 52.4.10 Gold wire earring with filigree (Met 52.4.9), Iran, 12th-13th century Gilt bronze ear clips (Met 1991.391.3 and Met 1991.391.5), Cambodia, 12th century A filigree gold and enamel earring element, Nasrid Spain, 14th century Silver-gilt earring made in Romania in the 14th or 15th century The Erythraean Sibyl on The Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, 1432 Portrait of Agnes Sorel David plays music (fol. 13v), Solomon (fol. 121v), and Constantine I on the throne (fol. 127v), in an Ethiopian psalter (BNF Ethiopien d'Abbadie 105), c. 1468-1478 Executioner in the Martyrdom of St. Barbara, c. 1470-1500 Epiphany by Hieronymus Bosch, 1475-1480 Detail from Nativity by Friedrich Herlin, 1488 Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi by Marx Reichlich, 1489 Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi, c. 1495-1505 Adoration of the Magi, c. 1500 Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi by Jörg Breu the Elder, 1501 Adoration of the Magi by Vasco Fernandes, 1501-1506 Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi, 1503 Adoration of the Magi by Albrecht Dürer, 1504 (see detail) The baptism of St. Paul by Hans Holbein the Elder, 1504 Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi, c. 1505-1515 Adoration of the Magi by Juan de Flandes, c. 1508-1519 Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1510 (detail from center panel) Portrait of a girl by Sebastiano del Piombo, c. 1515 Christ Carrying the Cross by Hieronymus Bosch, 1515-1516 Portrait of a young lady by Bartolomeo Veneto, 1520s Portrait of a lady by Bernardino Luini, c. 1525 Portrait of Laura Pisani, 1525 The Adoration of the Magi by Quentin Metsys, 1526 Adoration of the Magi by Joos van Cleve, 1526-1528 Triptich with the Adoration of the Magi by Pieter Coecke van Aelst Portrait of Eleanor, Queen of France by Joos van Cleve, c. 1530 Portrait of a young woman by Titian, 1530s Antea by Parmigianino, 1530-1535 Portrait of a lady by Pieter de Kempeneer La Bella by Titian, 1536 Portrait of Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Mantua by Titian, 1536 Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga by Titian, c. 1538 Venus of Urbino by Titian, 1538 Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga with her three sons by Parmigianino, c. 1539-1540 Portrait of a young woman and her little boy by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1540 Portrait of Henri II by François Clouet, c. 1540 Portrait of Bia de Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1542 Eleonora of Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino, 1543 Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo with her son Giovanni de' Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1544-1545; also, Eleonora of Toledo and her son by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1545-1550 Portrait of a girl by Titian, c. 1545 Portrait of Giulia Varano, Duchess of Urbino by Titian, c. 1545-1547 Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo, c. 1550 St. Cecilia, c. 1550-1570 Portrait of François de Lorraine, c. 1550-1575 Portrait of Countess Livia da Porto Thiene and her Daughter Deidamia (also here) by Paolo Veronese, c. 1551 Portrait of Maria de' Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, 1551 Portrait of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal, by Antonio Mor, c. 1552 Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots by François Clouet, 1552 Portrait of the Dauphin (François II) by Léonard Limosin, c. 1553 Young woman with a dish of fruit by Titian, c. 1555 Profile portrait of a young woman by Sofonisban Anguissola Portrait of an unknown lady (The Lady in White) by Titian, 1560 Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo by Allesandro Allori, c. 1560 Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino, 1560 Portrait of Lucrezia de' Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, 1560 Portrait of Marguerite de Valois by François Clouet, c. 1560 Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola by Lucia Anguissola, 1560-1565 Portrait of Maximilian II, His Wife and Three Children by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1563 Portraits of the daughters of Ferdinand I by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, c. 1563: Archduchess Magdalena, Archduchess Margarete, Archduchess Helena or Archduchess Barbara, and Archduchess Anna Portrait of Claude de Beaune de Semblançay by François Clouet, 1567 Portrait of a woman by Bernardino Campi, late 1560s The Adoration of the Magi by Fray Nicolás Borrás, 1570s Portrait of a lady by Jacopo Zucci, 1570s Portrait of a woman by Alessandro Allori, 1570-1590 Portrait of Eleonora di Don Garzia di Toledo di Don Pietro dei' Medici by Alessandro Allori, c. 1571 Portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Federico Zuccaro, 1574 Portrait of a man in white, 1574 Miniature of an unknown lady, c. 1575-1580 Queen Katherine of Portugal (fol. 543) and Maria of Portugal (fol. 545) from the Portrait-Book of Hieronymus Beck von Leopoldsdorf (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien IN 9691), c. 1575-1585 Portrait of Henri III by François Clouet, c. 1581 Portrait of Henri III by Jean Decourt, c. 1581 Queen Elizabeth: The Sieve Portrait by Quentin Metsys the Younger, c. 1583 Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, c. 1585 Portrait of an unknown lady, c. 1586-1600 Portrait of Bianca Cappello by Alessandro Allori Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, 1588 Portrait miniature of a young man by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1588 Portrait of Diane de Poitiers, c. 1590 Portrait of a woman by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1590 Portrait of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, early 1590s Miniature of Queen Elizabeth by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1590-1600 Portrait of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth, c. 1591 Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, c. 1592 Portrait of Marie de' Medici by Pietro Fachetti, c. 1593-1595 Miniature portrait of Marie de' Medici The Penitent Magdalene by Caravaggio, 1594-1596; see detail Portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées and one of her sisters, c. 1595 Portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées Portrait of Mary Fitton, c. 1595 Miniature of Queen Elizabeth by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1595-1600 Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio, c. 1598 Queen Elizabeth: The Hardwick Portrait, c. 1599 Queen Elizabeth: The Rainbow Portrait, c. 1600 The Eliza Triumphans, c. 1601 Portrait of Queen Elizabeth Portrait of a girl in a red velvet dress Portrait of the Princess Royal (Elizabeth of Bohemia), 1603 Portrait of Anne of Denmark, 1605 Portrait of Princess Elizabeth (Elizabeth of Bohemia), 1606 Pair of earrings with portrait miniatures, associated with Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth and his wife Margaret Ogilvie, early 17th century Portrait of William Shakespeare Portrait of an unknown woman, once said to be Joyce Clopton, c. 1610 Portrait of Lady Diana Cecil by William Larkin, c. 1614-1618 Earrings and other jewelry from the Cheapside Hoard, 17th century; see also MoL A14018, A14109, A14188, A14348 Gold earrings with enamel, pearls, emeralds, and rubies (Met 1981.5.16 and Met 1981.5.17), Morocco, 17th century Pocahontas' earrings and portrait of Pocahontas, 1616 Portrait of Anne of Denmark by Paul van Somer, 1617 Miniature portrait of a young man by Lawrence Hilliard

Earrings

Encountering Medieval Textiles and Dress: Objects, Texts, Images

Earrings appear to have been fashionable in the Early Middle Ages, and then not at all through the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages -- and then become trendy again in the 16th century.

Oon more hier of stature þan x feete, blac of body, with houndis teeth, bisshop of that Oracle or praieng place, to vs appiered, of whom the earis perced and ouches and bies erin hangyng, and clad was with skynnes.

Letter of Alexander to Aristotle
(Worcester F. 172, ll. 677-682)

When they do appear in western European artwork in the Late Middle Ages, earrings are a sign that the individual wearing them is not part of the norm -- the "other," to borrow the term from "Marked Difference: Earrings and 'The Other' in Fifteenth-Century Flemish Art" in Encountering Medieval Textiles and Dress -- often indicating that the person being depicted or described is meant to be Eastern or African. Note, for example, the use of earrings on scenes of the Adoration of the Magi. (Think of it as a sort of late medieval artistic shorthand for "exotic," rather than a depiction of something that followed the conventions of western European fashions at that time.)

El Piercing has detailed images of multiple piercings in ears in 16th century portraits.

What follows are links to information about extant earrings, as well as depictions of women (and men) wearing earrings. I've also started the process of moving these to separate pages for Ostrogothic earrings, Merovingian Frankish earrings, Lombardic earrings, Byzantine earrings, Persian earrings, Egyptian & Syrian earrings, English Renaissance earrings, Italian Renaissance earrings, French Renaissance earrings, and the earrings that mark exotic or Oriental characters.

Ostrogothic earrings

Earrings with polyhedral beads (Met 98.11.94-95), 5th century
Gold earrings with garnets (Cleveland 1975.48), 5th century
An earring from the Domagagno Treasure, late 5th-early 6th century
Gold earrings with 14-sided garnet beads (Met Met 22.50.9 and Met 22.50.10), 5th-6th century

Merovingian earrings

Gold and silver-gilt earrings with garnets, 5th-7th century (another view)
One of a pair of gold cloisonné earrings (Met 17.191.86 and Met 17.191.87) with garnets with patterned foil backings, c. 500-550
Gold earrings in the Bréban grave group, early to mid-6th century
Gold earrings from the Artres grave group, early to mid-6th century Merovingian
Merovingian earring, c. 570
Earrings of Queen Aregund (also here and here), c. 570
Silver hoop earrings with polyhedral beads (Met 17.193.105 and Met 17.193.106), c. 675-725
Gold earrings with garnets (Met 17.191.1 and Met 17.191.2) in gold with garnets with foil backings, 2nd half of the 8th century

Lombardic earrings

Gold earring with rubies, emeralds, and garnets (V&A 6570-1855), 6th-7th century
Gold earring (Met 17.191.6) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century
Earring (Met 17.191.9) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century
Earring (Met 17.191.10) of the “basket” variety in gold with garnet and glass, 6th-7th century
Gold earring (Met 95.15.84), 6th-7th century
Gold earring (Met 95.15.85), 6th-7th century
Gold earring (Met 95.15.86) with glass paste, 6th-7th centuries
Gold earring (Met 95.15.118) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century
Gold earring (Met 95.15.119) of the “basket” variety, 6th-7th century
Gold earrings (Met 95.15.124 and Met 95.15.125) of the “basket” variety with glass and pearls, 6th-7th century
Gold earring (Met 95.15.127) of the “basket” variety with a six-pointed star shape, 6th-7th century
Basket earring (Walters 57.475), glass paste on gold, late 6th-7th century
Basket earring (Walters 57.476), glass paste and garnet on gold, late 6th-7th century
Basket earring (Walters 57.1662), gold, 7th century
Gold earring with garnet & glass inlays (British Museum M&ME 1872,6-4,595), 7th century
Gold earrings with enamel, pearls, and glass, 7th century

German earring (V&A M.121-1939), 6th-7th century
Gold Avar earrings (Met 17.191.4 and Met 17.191.5), c. 550-650
Gold earrings from a 7th century grave

Byzantine earrings

Basket-shaped earrings, c. 6th-7th century
Gold earrings with pearls and sapphires (Met 17.190.145 and Met 17.190.146), 6th-7th century
Gold earrings with pearls (Met 17.190.1665 and Met 17.190.1666), 6th-7th century
Crescent-shaped earrings, c. 500-700
Crescent-shaped earrings (British Museum M&ME AF.338), gold with enamel panels depicting birds, 10th century
Crescent-shaped earring (Cleveland 1946.493) in gold with enamel, 11th century
Russian crescent-shaped silver-gilt earrings with cloisonné rosettes, 12th century
A pair of Kievan Rus' or Byzantine crescent-shaped earrings with rosettes in cloisonné enamel and gold (Met 17.190.2051 and Met 17.190.2052), 12th century

Egyptian and Syrian earrings

Gold earrings (Met 30.95.38 and Met 30.95.39) with filigree and applied decoration, Egypt, 11th century
Gold earrings (Met 1978.142.1 and Met 1978.142.2), Egypt, 11th century
Electrum earring (Met 1979.289 a, b), Egypt, 11th century
Gold earring with filigree and granulation (Met 74.51.3607), Egypt or Syria, 11th century
Syrian earrings (Met 1979.278.2a, b), 11th century
A Fatimid gold earring, Syria, 12th century

Persian earrings

Gold earrings (Met 1984.175.41 a, b) from Sasanian Iran, c. 3rd-7th century
Gold earrings with filigree and granulation (Met 1979.7.3a, b), Iran, 1st half of the 11th century
Gold earring (Met 1979.7.4), Iran, 1st half of the 11th century
Gold earring with filigree and granulation (Met 1979.96), 1st half of the 11th century
Sheet gold earring with granulation (Met 52.4.15), Iran, 11th-12th century
Earrings (Met 52.4.11 and Met 52.4.12) in gold wire and sheets with filigree, Iran, 11th-12th century
Earrings (Met 52.4.13) in sheet gold with granulation, Iran, 11th-12th century
Gold earrings (Met 1980.541.9), 11th-12th century
Gold earring (Met 1980.541.10), 11th-12th century
A pair of crescent-shaped earrings (Met 2006.273a and Met 2006.273b) in gold with filigree and granulation, made in Iran in the 11th-12th century
Gold earring (Met 1980.541.7), 11th-13th century
Gold earring (Met 1980.541.8), 11th-13th century
Gold earring (Met 1984.175.46), Iran, 11th-13th century
Gold earring (Met 1984.175.44), Iran, 11th-13th century
Four pairs of Seljuk earrings, northeast Persia, c. 12th century
Gold wire earring with filigree (Met 52.4.4), Iran, 12th century
Gold earrings (Met 1972.218.2a, b), 12th century
Gold wire earrings with filigree and pale stone (Met 52.4.1 and Met 52.4.2), Iran, 12th century
A pair of Seljuk gold gem-set earrings, Iran, 12th-13th century
Gold earring (Met 22.201) in the form of an owl in filigree, Iran, 12th-13th century
More earrings in gold wire with filigree from 12th-13th century Iran: Met 52.4.5, Met 52.4.6, Met 52.4.7, Met 52.4.8, Met 52.4.10
Gold wire earring with filigree (Met 52.4.9), Iran, 12th-13th century

Gilt bronze ear clips (Met 1991.391.3 and Met 1991.391.5), Cambodia, 12th century
A filigree gold and enamel earring element, Nasrid Spain, 14th century
Silver-gilt earring made in Romania in the 14th or 15th century
The Erythraean Sibyl on The Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, 1432
Portrait of Agnes Sorel
David plays music (fol. 13v), Solomon (fol. 121v), and Constantine I on the throne (fol. 127v), in an Ethiopian psalter (BNF Ethiopien d'Abbadie 105), c. 1468-1478
Executioner in the Martyrdom of St. Barbara, c. 1470-1500
Epiphany by Hieronymus Bosch, 1475-1480
Detail from Nativity by Friedrich Herlin, 1488
Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi by Marx Reichlich, 1489
Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi, c. 1495-1505
Adoration of the Magi, c. 1500
Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi by Jörg Breu the Elder, 1501
Adoration of the Magi by Vasco Fernandes, 1501-1506
Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi, 1503
Adoration of the Magi by Albrecht Dürer, 1504 (see detail)
The baptism of St. Paul by Hans Holbein the Elder, 1504
Balthasar in Adoration of the Magi, c. 1505-1515
Adoration of the Magi by Juan de Flandes, c. 1508-1519
Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1510 (detail from center panel)
Portrait of a girl by Sebastiano del Piombo, c. 1515
Christ Carrying the Cross by Hieronymus Bosch, 1515-1516
Portrait of a young lady by Bartolomeo Veneto, 1520s
Portrait of a lady by Bernardino Luini, c. 1525
Portrait of Laura Pisani, 1525
The Adoration of the Magi by Quentin Metsys, 1526
Adoration of the Magi by Joos van Cleve, 1526-1528
Triptich with the Adoration of the Magi by Pieter Coecke van Aelst
Portrait of Eleanor, Queen of France by Joos van Cleve, c. 1530
Portrait of a young woman by Titian, 1530s
Antea by Parmigianino, 1530-1535
Portrait of a lady by Pieter de Kempeneer
La Bella by Titian, 1536
Portrait of Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Mantua by Titian, 1536
Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga by Titian, c. 1538
Venus of Urbino by Titian, 1538
Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga with her three sons by Parmigianino, c. 1539-1540
Portrait of a young woman and her little boy by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1540
Portrait of Henri II by François Clouet, c. 1540
Portrait of Bia de Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1542
Eleonora of Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino, 1543
Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo with her son Giovanni de' Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1544-1545; also, Eleonora of Toledo and her son by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1545-1550
Portrait of a girl by Titian, c. 1545
Portrait of Giulia Varano, Duchess of Urbino by Titian, c. 1545-1547
Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo, c. 1550
St. Cecilia, c. 1550-1570
Portrait of François de Lorraine, c. 1550-1575
Portrait of Countess Livia da Porto Thiene and her Daughter Deidamia (also here) by Paolo Veronese, c. 1551
Portrait of Maria de' Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, 1551
Portrait of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal, by Antonio Mor, c. 1552
Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots by François Clouet, 1552
Portrait of the Dauphin (François II) by Léonard Limosin, c. 1553
Young woman with a dish of fruit by Titian, c. 1555
Profile portrait of a young woman by Sofonisban Anguissola
Portrait of an unknown lady (The Lady in White) by Titian, 1560
Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo by Allesandro Allori, c. 1560
Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo by Agnolo Bronzino, 1560
Portrait of Lucrezia de' Medici by Agnolo Bronzino, 1560
Portrait of Marguerite de Valois by François Clouet, c. 1560
Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola by Lucia Anguissola, 1560-1565
Portrait of Maximilian II, His Wife and Three Children by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1563
Portraits of the daughters of Ferdinand I by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, c. 1563: Archduchess Magdalena, Archduchess Margarete, Archduchess Helena or Archduchess Barbara, and Archduchess Anna
Portrait of Claude de Beaune de Semblançay by François Clouet, 1567
Portrait of a woman by Bernardino Campi, late 1560s
The Adoration of the Magi by Fray Nicolás Borrás, 1570s
Portrait of a lady by Jacopo Zucci, 1570s
Portrait of a woman by Alessandro Allori, 1570-1590
Portrait of Eleonora di Don Garzia di Toledo di Don Pietro dei' Medici by Alessandro Allori, c. 1571
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Federico Zuccaro, 1574
Portrait of a man in white, 1574
Miniature of an unknown lady, c. 1575-1580
Queen Katherine of Portugal (fol. 543) and Maria of Portugal (fol. 545) from the Portrait-Book of Hieronymus Beck von Leopoldsdorf (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien IN 9691), c. 1575-1585
Portrait of Henri III by François Clouet, c. 1581
Portrait of Henri III by Jean Decourt, c. 1581
Queen Elizabeth: The Sieve Portrait by Quentin Metsys the Younger, c. 1583
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, c. 1585
Portrait of an unknown lady, c. 1586-1600
Portrait of Bianca Cappello by Alessandro Allori
Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, 1588
Portrait miniature of a young man by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1588
Portrait of Diane de Poitiers, c. 1590
Portrait of a woman by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1590
Portrait of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, early 1590s
Miniature of Queen Elizabeth by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1590-1600
Portrait of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth, c. 1591
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, c. 1592
Portrait of Marie de' Medici by Pietro Fachetti, c. 1593-1595
Miniature portrait of Marie de' Medici
The Penitent Magdalene by Caravaggio, 1594-1596; see detail
Portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées and one of her sisters, c. 1595
Portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées
Portrait of Mary Fitton, c. 1595
Miniature of Queen Elizabeth by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1595-1600
Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio, c. 1598
Queen Elizabeth: The Hardwick Portrait, c. 1599
Queen Elizabeth: The Rainbow Portrait, c. 1600
The Eliza Triumphans, c. 1601
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth
Portrait of a girl in a red velvet dress
Portrait of the Princess Royal (Elizabeth of Bohemia), 1603
Portrait of Anne of Denmark, 1605
Portrait of Princess Elizabeth (Elizabeth of Bohemia), 1606
Pair of earrings with portrait miniatures, associated with Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth and his wife Margaret Ogilvie, early 17th century
Portrait of William Shakespeare
Portrait of an unknown woman, once said to be Joyce Clopton, c. 1610
Portrait of Lady Diana Cecil by William Larkin, c. 1614-1618
Earrings and other jewelry from the Cheapside Hoard, 17th century; see also MoL A14018, A14109, A14188, A14348
Gold earrings with enamel, pearls, emeralds, and rubies (Met 1981.5.16 and Met 1981.5.17), Morocco, 17th century
Pocahontas' earrings and portrait of Pocahontas, 1616
Portrait of Anne of Denmark by Paul van Somer, 1617
Miniature portrait of a young man by Lawrence Hilliard