Description
These fragments of early sixteenth century painted panelling were once part of a frieze featuring many of the great Saxon Kings. While the cycle was broken apart many years ago, historians have identified the pieces in the Society’s collection as part of a whole thanks to the brocade curtain depicted in the background of each fragment, which would have connected each element of the cycle when in its complete state.
The scheme would originally have been of a considerable size, requiring a large room for display and it is possible it was originally located in Eltham Palace Hall where the young Henry VIII spent his Christmases. It is believed the scheme was commissioned during the reign of Henry’s father, King Henry VII (a series of early kings painted contemporaneously for Henry VII at Richmond Palace may have been the prototype). As such, these pieces represent some of the earliest paintings of the Saxon Kings of England.
Henry VII had come to the throne as a challenger whose right to reign was questioned by many, so he sought to prove his legitimacy by tracing his ancestry back to one of medieval England’s most powerful Kings – Athelstan, who united the lesser kingdoms of England in the tenth century. The Saxon ruler was seen as a great peacekeeper and, after the turmoil and bloodshed of the War of the Roses, Henry VII hoped to draw a favourable comparison. The inscription on the featured panel identifies it as Athelstan, making a connection between the Tudors and the first King of England.
If Eltham Palace was their original home, the young Henry VIII may well have been impressed by the power of the imagery that surrounded him; the story that it told of his powerful and noble ancestors; and by the figure of King Athelstan – the peacekeeping monarch who brought stability during turmoil and unified his Kingdom. Henry held onto this fascination with majesty as propaganda, and drew inspiration from the past when stepping forward to fulfil the humanist ideal of the peacekeeping King.
Learn More / Did you Know
These historic panels were eventually rediscovered by Alfred John Kempe at Baston House in Keston in 1813, where they had been, ‘sadly mutilated to form the wainscot [lining panelling] of a small closet’. Baston House was not sufficiently important to have provided the original setting for the scheme but, as the crow flies, Baston is only one mile from Eltham Palace. From its heyday under Edward IV and the first Tudor kings, Eltham declined under Elizabeth. Under the Commonwealth, the palace was sold to Colonel Nathaniel Rich and he began to demolish the buildings, and by 1656 they sat in ruins with dismantled materials being re-used and repurposed for local building works.
Society Insights
Alfred John Kempe published his discovery in the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1830, illustrated with engravings by his close friend, antiquarian draughtsman and member of the Society of Antiquaries, Charles Stothard. Kempe also exhibited a selection of the panels at a meeting of the Society that same year. The six panels were given to the Society in 1880 by Canon Jackson on behalf of his cousin, Elizabeth Jackson, heiress of Baston House.
- Maker
- Artist or workshop unknown
- Production Place
- England
- Materials
- Oil on oak panels
- Date
- c.1515
- Date
- c.1515
- Dimensions
- 1. H1585mm W760mm2. H1430mm W760mm3. H1430mm W250mm4. H338mm W320mm5. H350mm W470mm6. H530mm W390mm
- Provenance
- Donated by Rev. Canon Jackson FSA on behalf of his cousin, Elizabeth Branson 1880