ARTWORKS

Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe (c.1539–1616)

Master of the Countess of Warwick (Arnold Derickson?) (active 1567–1569)

Compton Verney

Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe (c.1539–1616)

Image credit: Compton Verney

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Notes

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Thomas Knyvett was a member of an important East Anglian landowning family who lived at Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1578 and became High Sheriff of Norfolk the following year. This portrait was painted in about 1569, when Thomas was an ambitious young courtier, married to Muriel Parry, daughter of Thomas Parry, comptroller of the Queen’s household. Knyvett is portrayed with his wrist casually resting on his sword hilt – this highlights his right to bear arms, an important signifier of social status. He is fashionably dressed in a white doublet slashed to reveal a 'blackwork' embroidered shirt beneath. The painting is unsigned but because of its distinctive style it has been attributed to an artist known as the 'Master of the Countess of Warwick', who was active in England in the late 1560s, and probably came from the Netherlands.

Compton Verney

Compton Verney

Title

Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe (c.1539–1616)

Date

c.1569

Medium

oil on panel

Measurements

H 99.1 x W 71.7 cm (E)

Accession number

CVCSC:0257.B

Acquisition method

purchased, 1999

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

Compton Verney

Compton Verney, Warwickshire CV35 9HZ England

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Artist or maker

Master of the Countess of Warwick (Arnold Derickson?)

active 1567–1569

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