You may have seen the news about the discovery of a contemporary carving of Anne Boleyn's falcon badge and how Paul Fitzsimmons, an antiques dealer, bought it for £75 and how it's now worth £200,000. It's a wonderful find and the good news is that Paul isn't keeping it to himself, it's going on loan to Hampton Court Palace. Thank you, Paul, and thank you to Tracy Borman, Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces.
In this video, I interview my dear friends, Sandra Vasoli and James Peac*ck, who both played key roles in the story of this carving. It is a fascinating story.
Paul's website is https://www.marhamchurchantiques.com/ and a big thank you to him for allowing us to use his photos of Anne Boleyn's falcon badge before and after its restoration. Photo credit: Paul Fitzsimmons, Marhamchurch Antiques
You can find out more about the symbolism of Anne Boleyn's badge and the other parts of her heraldry in my article here on the Anne Boleyn Files at https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyns-badge/
Sandi is the author of two novels about Anne Boleyn - Struck with the Dart of Love and Truth Endures - and a non-fiction book Anne Boleyn's Letter from the Tower. Her website is https://sandravasoli.com/
James works at Hampton Court Palace and also runs the popular Queen Anne Boleyn Society on social media - https://www.facebook.com/anneboleynsociety, https://twitter.com/anneboleynsoc and https://www.instagram.com/anneboleynsociety/
Just listened. Its so amazing. Wonderful find. Thanks for having Sandra Vasoli and James Peac*ck on. Michelle t
What a great find! I love the idea of having a ‘memorial – museum’ to Anne Boleyn, Ideally on the site where she spent most time, most likely where here private chambers once stood. It may even encourage more findings to be brought forward to add to the collection, knowing they have a safe space to be appreciated.
What a fascinating story!! Thank you for sharing!! Can’t wait to see it on display at some point!
What an incredible find. Thank you Claire, Sandra, James and Tim for putting together this really interesting video. I had been curious as to how the falcon was described at the sale after reading about it in the Guardian. I wonder if someone painted it black so to make it less conspicuous so not to raise Henry’s ire. I think it’s absolutely wonderful that Paul Fitzsimmons is loaning it so the public get to see it and learn more about Anne and the rich history of theTudors. I look forward to hearing anymore that is learned about it and hope that there will be some sort of online access to view it when it goes on display at Hampton Court Palace since I probably (disappointingly)won’t be able to see it in person.