16th century England
A01=Rachel King
Anne Boleyn
Anne of Cleves
Archaeological discovery
Author_Rachel King
british museum
Category=AFKG
Category=AGA
Catherine Howard
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine Parr
Court jewellery
Divorced beheaded died
divorced beheaded survived
Dynastic marriage
Early Tudor court
Enamel work
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Gold chain
Gold pendant
Heart-shaped pendant
Henry VIII
Jane Seymour
Katherine of Aragon
king
Mary I
Metal detecting
monarchy
PAS
queen
Renaissance jewellery
Royal artefacts
Royal symbolism
SIX
treasure
Treasure find
Tudor
Tudor England
Tudor Heart
Tudor Rose
Product details
- ISBN 9780714123547
- Weight: 160g
- Dimensions: 147 x 210mm
- Publication Date: 14 May 2026
- Publisher: British Museum Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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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.
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).
