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THE QUEEN'S HOUSE
MEDALS AND MINIATURES
A GLITTERING DISPLAY OF RARE 17TH CENTURY TREASURES
An exhibition of the National Maritime Museum's rare collection of artistic and scientific artefacts from the 17th century is now open in the Queen's House.
The exhibition, Medals and Miniatures, brings together one hundred objects, including English portrait miniatures, European medals, scientific instruments, drawings and weaponry, conjuring a stylish image of European art and science during the late Renaissance.
The exhibition is situated in the basement of the Queen's House, England's first purely classical building, designed by Inigo Jones for Queen Anne of Denmark in 1616. Most of the exhibits date from the early 17th-century. The typically English style of portrait miniatures is set against the continental styles of medals and instruments.
Notable exhibits include a pearwood bust of Galileo, a concave Burning Mirror of 1600 (used to melt metal and boil liquids) and the collection of scientific instruments associated with Cardinal Francisco Barberini. He was the nephew of Maffeo Barberini - better known as Pope Urban VIII - an early patron of Galileo, who was later responsible for bringing him before the Inquisition in 1633. Cardinal Barberini was a central figure in the cultural life of Rome and helped found the Vatican Library. The fine collection of armillary spheres, astrolabes and surveying instruments on display was housed for 300 years in the baroque Palazzi Barberini.
The miniatures include a portrait by Hans Holbein the younger of Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife. The European medals include images of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pope Alexander VIII, Charles II and Louis XIV. Lining the gallery walls is a series of drawings by Jacques de Gheyn II illustrating the correct use of weapons. The drawings are accompanied by a display of European guns and swords.
MEDALS AND MINIATURES IS OPEN NOW AND IS A PERMANENT EXHIBITION
Opening Hours: 10.00am to 5.00pm, seven days a week. Closed 24,25,26 December.
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