Mary Wotton, Lady Guildford will have her year of death updated on the Saint Louis Art Museum website because of me!

Remember back in April 2026 when I reached out to the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) about the misspelling of Mary's surname of Wotton (they had originally spelled it as Wooten)? This portrait was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger circa 1527. https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/35772/

 

Well, at that time, I also addressed her year of death. SLAM's webpage says she lived from 1499-1535. This is incorrect because by 1540, she married her second husband Sir Gawen Carew.

Her burial plaque is at St. Mary Churchyard in Devon, England. She died in September 1558. The Met Museum also has her death year listed as 1558: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436664 . 

 

According to this website, Mary Wotton was one of the ladies of Queen Kateryn Parr's household in 1543: https://tudorsdynasty.com/ladies-served-kateryn-parr/ .

So anyway... Today I heard back from SLAM. The head curator of European Art until 1800 agrees that SLAM should update their records to reflect the burial plaque. The changes should be visible online within the next 24-48 hours! ☺️☺️ 

 

 

 

 

I Contacted Another Website About Mary Wotton's Year of Death

I reached out to National Trust Collections regarding the year of death that is on their website for Mary Wotton, which is listed as 1535.

Above is a current screenshot of their website.

Below is her burial plaque at St. Mary Churchyard in Devon, England. According to this burial plaque, she died in September 1558.

I have received a response from the National Trust Collections stating, "We shall raise the matter with our counterparts in the collections team who will be able to investigate and update their records accordingly."

The Embroidery Pattern on Mary, Lady Guildford's Smock in Her 1527 Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger

This is Mary Wotton, Lady Guildford. According to FamilySearch.org, "Mary Wotton was born in 1499, in Boughton Malherbe, Kent, England, her father, Sir. Robert Wotton, was 44 and her mother, Anne Belknap, was 39." After 26 December, 1523, Mary became the second wife of Sir Henry Guildford, who died on 28 May, 1532 in Kent, England. He was buried in Blackfriars, London, England. 

By July 1540, Mary had married for a second time, this time to Sir Gawain Carew. She died childless in September 1558, at the age of 59.

Mary's sister was Margaret Wotton, Marchioness of Dorset, who was the second wife of Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset, and the mother of his children, including Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk (the father of Lady Jane Grey, the 9 Days Queen of England). Two of her brothers held important positions in the government: Edward Wotton (knighted and later appointed sheriff of Kent) was Treasurer of Calais and Nicholas Wotton was a diplomat who arranged the marriage of Henry VIII to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, in 1539.

Above is a portrait of Mary painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1527 and is at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

When zooming in closely to the square neckline of Mary's linen smock, the appearance of embroidery in white thread appears with black trim on the very edge of the fabric.

 

My opinion is that this embroidery pattern is similar, if not identical, to the pattern found on the collar of a Portrait of a Man, also painted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The difference being that on the man's collar, the pattern is placed on its side in repetitive columns, whereas on Mary's smock it is one continuous pattern. For more information on the Portrait of a Man and my interpretation of the embroidery pattern on his collar, please follow this link here. 

 

 Above is my interpretation of the embroidery pattern found on the square neckline of Mary's smock. 

 

Embroidering a Pattern Found on Unknown Lady's Cuffs from the Early 16th Century | Holbein Stitch

This particular blackwork embroidery pattern is my interpretation of the pattern on the cuffs in this Portrait of an Unknown Lady, circa 1500 to 1524 (attributed to Jean Perréal). This lady has sometimes been identified as Madeleine de la Tour d’Auverge (1498-1519), Countess of Boulogne, Lady of St Saturnin, by marriage Duchess of Urbino. Wife of Lorenzo II de' Medici and mother of Catherine de Médici, Queen of France.

 

Blackwork embroidery is also known as double-running stitch or Holbein stitch. Historically, it was typically found as silk thread embroidered on white linen in a reversible stitch. 

For more historical information (plus a step by step on how to begin) on blackwork embroidery, please visit: https://youtu.be/lcZsoB71XZQ 

For more information on the portrait that inspired this pattern, please visit my blog at: http://tudorblackwork.blogspot.com/2023/02/another-16th-century-blackwork.html

 

          Check out my embroidery books! 

- 16th to 18th Century Double-Running Stitch Embroidery Patterns (2nd Edition of Pre-18th Century Embroidery Patterns). https://amzn.to/43lwjRp 

- Pre-18th Century Embroidery Patterns (1st Edition). https://amzn.to/4cnysi5 

- Patterns from 16th Century Pattern Books. https://amzn.to/43VMwwI

 

            Suggested Items for Purchase: 

 

- Silk thread (Needle in a Haystack): http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/AVAS_Ovale.html or http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/Thread/AVAS_SoiePerlee.html 

- Slate Frame (T.F. Woodcraft): https://www.tfwoodcraft.com/shop/slate-frames/ 

- Hoop Frame: https://amzn.to/3sktIBs 

- Beeswax: https://amzn.to/3ZFtwPM 

- Scissors: https://amzn.to/2ZO93cP 

- Linen Fabric: https://amzn.to/3m1bsuJ 

- Craft Stand: https://amzn.to/3pYGlR0

 

 

 

An Update about Mary Wotton!

Remember last week when I mentioned that the St. Louis Art Museum had Mary Wotton's surname misspelled? 

 

 

I contacted the museum. I was able to have her surname mostly updated.... It's now spelled Wotten (originally the museum had it listed as Wooten), although it's supposed to be Wotton. But it's still a step in the right direction!

 

 

However, there still seems to be a discrepancy about her year of death. According to the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM), some of the research authorities list it as 1535 (and not September 1558, as per her burial plaque). Here are the authorities that SLAM provided me with:

- The Peerage

- Library of Congress

- Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

- Virtual Identity Authority Link

So, it looks like I will be reaching out to these research authorities to update their records... Below are screenshots of these webpages today, along with a picture of her burial plaque.

By 1540, she married her second husband, Sir Gawen Carew. Mary's burial plaque is at St. Mary Churchyard in Devon, England. She died in September 1558.

 The Peerage:

 

Another Blackwork Embroidery Pattern Found on a Hans Holbein Portrait!?!?

This is the 33rd portrait attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger that I have found thus far with blackwork embroidery in it!

 

This is a portrait of an unknown English lady that is part of the Oskar Reinhart Collection with Museen und Sammlungen des Bundes from circa 1535. This portrait is 32.9 x 25.4 cm in dimension. The museum description of this portrait states, "The young woman in three-quarter profile seems introverted and controlled. The interlocking hands rest on her lap. The expressionless face is turned to the left; her gaze goes into the distance. Although the identity of the portrayed cannot be clarified, her beaded bonnet identifies her as an English noblewoman. In the portrait, detailed elements such as the embroidered cuffs or the brooch on the bonnet alternate with flat sections such as the dark-robed upper body and the petrol-colored background. It was written during Holbein's second stay in England. The Ausburger, whose father had already been a famous Renaissance painter, became a court painter to the English King Henry VIII in 1536." 

 

 

Here is an enhanced picture of the lady's cuffs. Based on what I can see of the blackwork embroidery pattern, I have recreated the pattern to the best of my ability. Please see below.

 

 

I was extremely excited when I saw this portrait, as it's the first time that I have seen this particular portrait. Aside from finding another blackwork embroidery pattern in a Holbein portrait, I am also intrigued by the brooch on her gable hood -- as I have not seen any other ladies in portraits from this time period wearing a brooch on their hoods (French hood or gable hood).  

 

 

 

 

Patterns in Ink on Linen for Blackwork Embroidery | Pouncing

Around 1540 in England, the counted stitch form of blackwork embroidery (also known as Holbein Stitch) gave way to the swirly, floral type of blackwork embroidery that remained popular well into the 17th century. Prick and pounce, otherwise known as pouncing, was a way to transfer the swirly, floral pattern on to the linen and then the embroidery was placed over top of the inked pattern.

 

In England in the early 17th century, patterns for embroidery were provided by print sellers. Many of these were designs inspired by images of birds, animals, insects and plants found in illustrated natural history and botanical books, which were very popular at the time. This was a commercial provision for the needs of the amateur embroiderer; the print sellers not only provided books and separate sheets of embroidery designs but also patterns printed or drawn directly onto a textile ground as seen here. The use by amateur embroiderers of prepared designs was know from at least the 16th century. Mary Queen of Scots, while imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in 1568, petitioned for 'an imbroderer to drawe forthe such worke as she would be occupied about'. 

From the 16th century the publication of embroidery pattern books published spread new and fashionable designs throughout Europe. These could be transferred onto linen by pricking holes along the outlines, pouncing (dusting with fine black powder), then joining the dots with a fine brush and black ink. Professional embroiderers and artists were sometimes hired to draw new patterns freehand. By the early 17th century, embroidery designs were being printed directly onto linen.

 

          Works Cited: 

- “Blackwork.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O357662/blackwork-unknown/. 

- “Coif.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O364616/coif-unknown/?carousel-image=2018KW4206. 

- “Coif and Forehead Cloth.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O251244/coif-and-forehead-unknown/. 

- Holbein the Younger, Hans. “Unknown Woman.” National Portrait Gallery. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw01146/Unknown-woman-formerly-known-as-Catherine-Howard. 

- Holbein d. J., Hans. “Jane Seymour.” Kunst Historisches Museum Wien. https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/detail/966/. 

- “Panel #1.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O319538/panel-unknown/. 

- “Panel #2.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O20024/panel-unknown/. 

- “Panel #3.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O357609/panel-unknown/. 

- “Pillow Bier.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O317151/pillow-bier-unknown/. 

- “Waistcoat Part #1.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O317153/waistcoat-part-pierrepont-mary/. 

 - “Waistcoat Part #2.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O115757/waistcoat-part-unknown/. 

- “Woman’s Coif.” Art Institute of Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/62497/woman-s-coif-altered.