QUEEN ELIZABETH’S PELICAN BROOCH 129
W
hile much is
known about
the symbolism
of Queen
Elizabeth I’s pelican brooch,
information on the piece itself is
scant. The last known image of
it is the Pelican Portrait of Queen
Elizabeth I, attributed to artist Nicholas
Hilliard. The painting was produced
around halfway through Elizabeth’s reign,
when she was around 40 years old, a
time when religious iconography became
more important to her public portrayal.
In the painting, the brooch is fastened to
Elizabeth’s richly adorned dress and depicts
a pelican with a bloodied breast and her
young around her. The enamel pelican
hangs from a square-cut diamond set in
gold and rests atop a square-cut ruby.
Elizabeth is known to have favoured
two symbols – the phoenix and the pelican.
While the former signified her enduranceand her long reign, the pelican
symbolized her devotion to her
subjects. In ancient legend,
it was thought that a mother
pelican, in times of scarcity, will
peck at her body in order to
feed her young with her own
blood, perhaps based on the
way pelicans press their bills against their
breasts to fully empty food from their throat
pouches. This legend, which predates
Christianity, was adopted by early Christians
to represent Christ’s sacrifice and the gift of
his body and blood in the Eucharist – he
was sometimes referred to as “the Pelican”.
Elizabeth adopted the symbol, wishing
to be seen as the selfless mother of her
people, placing her subjects’ needs before
her own. Her courtiers, aware of her
personal adoption of these emblems, gave
her gifts of pelican and phoenix jewellery,
such as appear in this portrait and in
Hilliard’s matching Phoenix Portrait.Queen Elizabeth’s pelican brooch
△ Enamel pelican, Elizabeth I’s signature emblemVan Cleef & Arpels clip
featuring the pelican motifKey dates
1558–1603
1550156015701580160016101590Phoenix Portrait, c.1575,
attributed to Nicholas
Hilliard... that good Pelican that to
feed her people spareth not
to rend her own person
John Lyly
English writer, c.1553–1606, on Queen Elizabeth I1558 On 17 November,
Elizabeth I ascends to
the thronec.1573 The Pelican
Portrait is painted, featuring
the pelican brooch1572 Nicholas Hilliard
paints a miniature of
Queen Elizabeth, who
adopts the pelican as
her religious symbol24 March 1603
Queen Elizabeth diesc.1573 The matching
Phoenix Portrait is painted
around the same time
as the Pelican PortraitArtist Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619),
famed for his portraits of Elizabeth I128-129_STO_Elizabeth_I_Pelican_Brooch_Final.indd 129 18/05/2016 11:00