Category:James VI & I (John de Critz - Montacute House)

The present painting is one of a group of portraits of James I, associated with John De Critz, sergeant painter to the King from 1605, other versions of which include those at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and St. John's College, Cambridge, as well as full length versions at Loseley Park and in the Prado, Madrid. In all these versions the King's costume and accoutrements vary subtly, particularly in relation to the ornamentation of his hat and the position of his hands. The jewel which decorates the King's black ostrich plumed hat in this particularly fine version is the celebrated Mirror of Great Britain, which was created in 1605 and included the famous 55.23 carat Sancy diamond, now on display in the Louvre, Paris. James I had bought the diamond in 1604 for 60,000 ecus from Nicholas de Sancy, whose brother, M. de Montglat, was the French Ambassador to London. In 1625 James I was succeeded by his son, Charles I, who disposed of the Mirror of Great Britain in order to raise money to finance his debts, but he retained the Sancy. The diamond remained one of the treasures of the British Crown Jewels until 1657, when it was acquired by Cardinal Jules Mazarin, First Minister of France and a great collector of precious stones, who bequeathed it to the French Crown upon his death.

This portrait was presented by James I to Sir Edward Phelips (c.1555/60-1614), Speaker of the House of Commons from 1603 to 1611, and later Master of the Rolls from 1611 until his death. A lawyer, and Justice of the Common Pleas in the County Palatine of Lancaster, he was active against the Catholics and was one of those appointed to examine the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Infamously having once condemning a man to death 'simply for entertaining a Jesuit', when the case came to trial in January 1606 it was Phelips who opened the indictment against Guy Fawkes. It is quite possible that the present painting was given by the sitter in recognition of Phelips's services during the trial and subsequent prosecution.

The painting hung at Montacute House, in Somerset, built by Phelips in circa 1598 as his family's principal seat. The house is believed to have been designed by William Arnold, the architect responsible for both Cranborne Manor, in Dorset, and Wadham College, Oxford, and it is regarded as one of the finest surviving examples of late Elizabethan architecture in England. The house remained in the possession of Phelips's descendants until the early 20th century and is now owned by the National Trust, who aquired the property in 1927.(Extracted from: Sotheby's - lot 41).