Lady Arabella Stuart (1575-1615)

Lady Arabella Stuart (1575-1615), cast bronze medal, 1615, half length bust three-quarters left, her hair high, wearing dress with puffed sleeves and open collar, O GOD GRANT PATIENCE IN THAT I SVFFER VRANG, rev., legend in centre and around, QVHO CAN COMPARE VITH ME IN GREIF I DIE AND DAR NOCHT SEIK RELIEF - HOVET NOT THE ♥ QVHOIS IOY THOV ART, 50mm (MI 207/41). Good very fine, though of uncertain age.

The attribution to Lady Arabella (or Arbella) remains unconfirmed, but the sentiment expressed in the reverse legend is thought to refer to the unhappy separation she endured from her husband, William Seymour, and her subsequent incarceration in the Tower, where she starved herself to death in 1615 at the age of 40.

Provenance: Bt. D. Fearon October, 2003.