Lot 15: John Hoskins (British, c.1590-1664/5) Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset (1587–1645) with moustache and

pointed beard, wearing armour with brass studs, white collar and hoop earring on vellum, original gold frame with tag engraved EARL OF SOMERSET/ BY/ JOHN HOSKINS oval, 33mm. (1 3/8in.) high Robert Carr (Ker), Scottish favourite of James I of England. He may have accompanied James to England as a page in 1603, but appears to have spent some time in France before returning to the English court. He soon became close to James and was knighted in 1607. In 1609 he was granted lands that had been forfeited by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1611, he was created Viscount Rochester and served James as personal secretary, becoming Earl of Somerset in 1613. In the same year he married Frances Howard, the Countess of Essex (who had her marriage to the 3rd Earl of Essex annulled in a sensational trial). In 1614, Somerset was made Lord Chamberlain. He became an important counsellor to the King, but his jealous and arrogant nature alienated James's affections. On the discovery of the murder of his former friend, Sir Thomas Overbury in 1616, Somerset and his wife were tried and found guilty of perpetrating it, although Somerset's guilt was not fully established. They were both pardoned but not released until 1622. The present lot depicts Carr as a relatively young man, circa 1620, a period when Hoskins painted him a number of times (cf., Royal Coll., Rayne Coll., Buccleuch Coll. and V&A Coll.). However, his armour is of the type worn just preceding and during the Civil War. It would therefore seem that for the present lot Carr either requested that he be painted in a flattering light or that it is in fact an example of Hoskins' "posthumous" portraits from memory. It has been suggested that some of Hoskin's 1620s portraits of Carr may have been painted from memory, as Carr was in prison at this time.