Lot 484: Circle of Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger

Circle of Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (1561-1635) PORTRAIT OF A BEARDED GENTLEMAN, A MEMBER OF THE BILSON FAMILY, HALF LENGTH, WEARING A HIGH COLLAR AND A BRAIDED JACKET WITH AN EMBROIDERED NECK Painted with an armorial shield and inscribed 'In amare nil amari ANO 1611 AE SVAE 59', oil on panel 47 x 43cm in a ribbon moulded frame The conjoined Tudor rose and pomegranate was a Royal badge after the time of Henry VIII. It was the sole charge on the shield of Thomas Bilson (1547-1616) Warden of Winchester College (1576), Bishop of Worcester (1597) and ultimately Bishop of Winchester. This shield indicates that a member of the Bilson family married a woman whose father's arms showed a gold wolf on a red shield. This couple had several sons, the third of whom established another family line. This painting shows a second son in this line of the Bilson family.