English School, circa 1570
English School, circa 1570

Portrait of a young man, identified as John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos (1492–1557), bust-length, in a fur-lined black tunic with a white ruff collar

Details
English School, circa 1570
Portrait of a young man, identified as John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos (1492–1557), bust-length, in a fur-lined black tunic with a white ruff collar
with identifying inscription in an 18th century [?] hand ‘Sir john Bruges of Coberly. / afterwards Lord Chandos / baron of Sudely. / AETAETIS SUAE 21.’ (upper right), with coat-of-arms (upper left), and with inscription ‘[Jo]hn Brydges 1st baron / Chandos died 1557. / For the Duchess of Buckingham … / … Sheffield…’ (on an old label attached to the reverse)
oil on panel
14 ½ x 12 1/8 in. (37 x 30.5 cm.), with 1 ¾ in. approx. added to left hand side
Provenance
Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham and Normanby (1680-1743) and probably to her step-son, Sir Charles Herbert Sheffield, 1st Baronet Sheffield (1704–1774) (according to the label on the reverse)

Lot Essay

The identification proposed by the inscription on the cartellino must be erroneous as the portrait post-dates the death of the 1st Baron Chandos. The writing on the cartellino appears to be in an 18th century hand, while the left edge of the panel (including most of the coat-of-arms) is a later addition. If the sitter is a member of the Brydges family, he is more likely to be Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chandos (1548-1594).
The Duchess of Buckingham referred to in the label on the panel’s reverse is probably Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham and Normanby, née Lady Catherine Darnley (1680-1743), an illegitimate daughter of King James II and his mistress Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester. She married John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1648-1721) in 1705, and the portrait appears to have passed to her step-son Sir Charles Herbert Sheffield, 1st Baronet Sheffield (1704–1774), the son of his father’s mistress Frances Stewart.

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