
Object in Focus: The Tudor Heart
Rachel King(Author)
British Museum Press
Published on 14. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
64 pages
978-0-7141-2354-7 (ISBN)
Description
A new title in the British Museum's Object in Focus series that tells the remarkable story of an enamelled gold necklace pendant associated with Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon.
This book tells the remarkable story of a spectacular chance find of a pendant associated with Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon, as well as Mary, their only surviving child. Known as the Tudor Heart, the object comprises a heart-shaped pendant with enamelled motifs, suspended from a chain by an enamelled clasp. Over 3 metres of gold wire have been used to make the chain, the oldest known example of its type to survive, and together the pendant, chain and clasp weigh over 0.3 kilograms and are largely 24 carat gold.
The pendant and chain have been dated to the last years of the 1510s based on the motifs used and archival evidence. This book argues that the object is an important witness to Henry's ambitions in the early years of his long reign, marking his first and longest marriage to a princess of higher birth, commemorating his daughter's betrothal to the infant son of the king of France, and showing the magnificence of Henry's court before the arrival of Hans Holbein the Younger changed its expression completely. Readers will learn about a masterfully crafted work using the most luxurious of materials, as well as its place as important historical evidence for pivotal years in English history.
This publication explores the sensational finding of the artefact, but its central aim is to establish the details of object's making, its broader historical context and to tell its own extraordinary story.
This book tells the remarkable story of a spectacular chance find of a pendant associated with Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon, as well as Mary, their only surviving child. Known as the Tudor Heart, the object comprises a heart-shaped pendant with enamelled motifs, suspended from a chain by an enamelled clasp. Over 3 metres of gold wire have been used to make the chain, the oldest known example of its type to survive, and together the pendant, chain and clasp weigh over 0.3 kilograms and are largely 24 carat gold.
The pendant and chain have been dated to the last years of the 1510s based on the motifs used and archival evidence. This book argues that the object is an important witness to Henry's ambitions in the early years of his long reign, marking his first and longest marriage to a princess of higher birth, commemorating his daughter's betrothal to the infant son of the king of France, and showing the magnificence of Henry's court before the arrival of Hans Holbein the Younger changed its expression completely. Readers will learn about a masterfully crafted work using the most luxurious of materials, as well as its place as important historical evidence for pivotal years in English history.
This publication explores the sensational finding of the artefact, but its central aim is to establish the details of object's making, its broader historical context and to tell its own extraordinary story.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
With over 30 illustrations; 34 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 207 mm
Width: 143 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
162 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7141-2354-7 (9780714123547)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rachel King is Curator of Renaissance Europe and the Waddesdon Bequest at the British Museum. Previous publications include Amber: From Antiquity to Eternity (Reaktion, 2022).