Overview

Bringing the existence and significance of the lost riches of Henry VIII back to life, this book sheds new light on Henrician and Tudor court culture. Henry VIII amassed the most spectacular collection of gold and silver of any British monarch. Plate and jewels were hugely prominent in medieval and Renaissance courts and played an essential role in dynastic marriages and diplomacy as well as in cementing the bonds between king and court. Ranging from plain domestic wares to extraordinary bejewelled works of art, Henry's collection embraced virtuoso continental objects as well as vast quantities of plate commissioned from London goldsmiths or inherited from his father. But nearly all of these holdings were destroyed over the following century, and of the thousands that he owned no more than a handful have survived to modern times. This book makes use of the wealth of surviving documentation - inventories, drawings, lists of payments, dispatches by foreign ambassadors and other records - to explore this lost collection and the light it sheds on the monarchy. Starting with an assessment of the young king's inheritance from his father, the book considers the role of plate at state banquets, in great church services and in the regular exchange of gifts between courtiers and ambassadors; the role of plate and jewels as a potent symbol of power; how the king used confiscation as an instrument of humiliation of those who fell from grace, including Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon; and how Henry's avaricious seizure of church plate towards the end of his life throws light on his changing character. While the focus is on plate and goldsmiths' work, the context ranges from court ceremonial to rivalry between princes, the role of the church, the vulnerability of persons and institutions with covetable assets, and relations between the king and his own family. Bringing the existence and significance of these lost riches back to life, the book sheds new light on Henrician and Tudor court culture.

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9781783275076

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Reviews

[A] well-written book of impeccable scholarship....This erudite volume, the fruit of a long-standing study of the objects and their sources, should be essential reading for everyone interested in goldsmiths' work and the decorative arts in Renaissance Europe. * THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE * An important book not just because it deals with a topic that has been previously overlooked, but because it opens up new fields of enquiry. * JEWELLERY HISTORY TODAY * Erudite and fascinating. * SILVER SOCIETY JOURNAL * This sumptuously illustrated book explores how Henry VIII's desire to maintain the magnificence of a Renaissance prince led him to acquire more gold and silver plate than any English king before or since. . . . Highly recommended. * CHOICE *

A sumptuous book to read, richly illustrated with numerous, well-chosen colour plates, which are produced to a high quality. [...] The visual side of 'A Marvel to Behold' is matched by the fluent and engaging prose and both are underpinned by an extensive bibliography. [...] Hopefully 'A Marvel to Behold' will result in other pieces being uncovered, offering us a glimpse of just how beautiful and technically brilliant Henry VIII's collection of plates was. -- ROYAL STUDIES JOURNAL A well-written book of impeccable scholarship....This erudite volume, the fruit of a long-standing study of the objects and their sources, should be essential reading for everyone interested in goldsmiths' work and the decorative arts in Renaissance Europe. * THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE * An important book not just because it deals with a topic that has been previously overlooked, but because it opens up new fields of enquiry. * JEWELLERY HISTORY TODAY * Erudite and fascinating. * SILVER SOCIETY JOURNAL * This sumptuously illustrated book explores how Henry VIII's desire to maintain the magnificence of a Renaissance prince led him to acquire more gold and silver plate than any English king before or since. . . . Highly recommended. * CHOICE * Timothy Schroder's A Marvel to Behold : Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII is an astonishingly good book about a subject that many readers will find unfamiliar. -- Journal of British Studies

An important book not just because it deals with a topic that has been previously overlooked, but because it opens up new fields of enquiry.--JEWELLERY HISTORY TODAY Erudite and fascinating.--SILVER SOCIETY JOURNAL

An important book not just because it deals with a topic that has been previously overlooked, but because it opens up new fields of enquiry. * JEWELLERY HISTORY TODAY * Erudite and fascinating. * SILVER SOCIETY JOURNAL * This sumptuously illustrated book explores how Henry VIII's desire to maintain the magnificence of a Renaissance prince led him to acquire more gold and silver plate than any English king before or since. . . . Highly recommended. * CHOICE *

Author Information

TIMOTHY SCHRODER was Curator of Decorative Arts at the Los Angeles County Museum and a Consultant Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Current or recent roles include Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company, President of the Silver Society and a Trustee of the Wallace Collection. Publications include English Domestic Silver, The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver and British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean Museum.

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