Heraldic Panel with a Couple
Acquired by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York, and installed in his library 1907-9.
The inscription and date at the bottom of the panel are a modern replacement.
The husband and wife stand on either side of an elaborate coat of arms. The deep red of the shield and mantling is silhouetted against the string-decorated gold ground above. To the left is the husband, wearing a light brown jacket and grey slashed breeches and grey stockings. He holds a pair of yellow gloves in this right hand. On the right, his wife is dressed in a light brown bodice with short puffed sleeves over a white long-sleeved blouse. Her left arm rests on the cord dangling across a long green skirt. Husband and wife stand in front of columns supporting a flat lintel. Above, on the left is a scene of men in a counting house with bull's-eye windows. To the right is an image (stopgap) of the Virgin Mary at prayer, a segment from an Annunciation. The bottom of the panel holds a cartouche with an inscription flanked by putti.