The Lady Henegham 1 - 1796

Francesco Bartolozzi etched this print of The Lady Henegham, immortalizing her with ink on paper. The Lady Henegham’s gable headdress immediately transports us to the Tudor era, a symbol of marital status and social rank. This very headdress echoes across time and space, from the elaborate head coverings of Byzantine empresses to the veiled figures in Renaissance portraits. These headdresses are not mere fashion statements, they whisper of power, piety, and the carefully constructed identities of women in patriarchal societies. Consider the oval brooch she wears: it serves as a microcosm of her identity. In ancient Rome, similar oval cameos were worn as protective amulets, symbols of power and status. The brooch becomes a focal point, a marker of identity, laden with the weight of history. It binds the wearer to a lineage of women who have used adornment as a shield and a statement. The Lady Henegham's gaze, averted and serene, invites us into a complex interplay of surface and depth, prompting reflections on how symbols resonate and transform across eras.