Thank you so much for Tudor Society member Lorna for inspiring today's Claire Chats video. In today's talk, I look at when ear piercing became fashionable in the Tudor period, the evidence we have on it and also ear piercing in men.
Here are galleries for you. Click on images to enlarge.
Elizabeth I wearing earrings:
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- The Ditchley Portrait
Men wearing earrings:
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- Charles I
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- Henry II of France
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- Henry III of France
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- A young Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
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- An unknown young man
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- Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth
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- Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset
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- Sir Walter Ralegh
Charles I's pearl earring:
Other English portraits of people wearing earrings:
Multiple piercings:
Sources and further reading
- Scarisbrick, Diana (1996) Tudor and Jacobean Jewellery, Tate Publishing.
- History of ear piercings - http://info.painfulpleasures.com/help-center/information-center/history-ear-piercings
- Charles I's pearl earring - http://www.harleygallery.co.uk/portland-collection/jewellery/charles-pearl-earring/
- Pocahontas's earrings - http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8173407/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/pocahontas-earrings-go-display/#.WRQSHtKGO00
- Portraits of people wearing earrings - http://www.larsdatter.com/earrings.htm
- More portraits - http://opusincertumhispanicus.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/el-piercing.html
- Cheapside Hoard earrings - http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/119558.html , http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/119554.html, http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/126095.html and http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/72061.html
- “Marked Difference: Earrings and “The Other” in Fifteenth-Century Flemish Art” by Penny Howell Jolly in the book Encountering Medieval Textiles and Dress: Objects, Texts, Images by D. Koslin (Editor), Janet Snyder (Editor)
What a fascinating Claire chats! It is especially interesting to know how popular this was amongst the men! I have had a lovely time looking at the portraits in the picture gallery. The detail in the costumes and the earrings is so beautiful.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth, it was an interesting subject to look into.
I wonder how old people were when they had their ears pierced during the Tudor period? my grandmother was a baby but she was born in Egypt so it was a cultural thing at the time.
I don’t know about how old people were generally, but I did come across a portrait of a woman holding her child who appeared to be somewhere between perhaps eight and 12 getting her ears pierced by a lady in waiting
That portrait, called The First Earring, is by Sir David Wilkie, is in the Tate Gallery in London. It was painted 1834-5. https://www.tate-images.com/N00328-The-First-Ear-Ring.html
The portrait, by Sir David Wilkie, is called “The First Ear-Ring” and it hangs in the Tate Gallery in London. It was painted 1834-5. https://www.tate-images.com/preview.asp?item=N00328&itemw=4&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=1
Very interesting talk!