Design for a Cup for Jane Seymour, Hans Holbein the Younger and Workshop, 1536–37

Preliminary design design for a cup for jane seymour. Ink and chalk on paper with grey and pink washes and gold heightening, 37. 6 × 15. 5 cm, ashmolean museum, oxford. The design is for an impressive gold cup to be presented to queen jane seymour by henry viii, whom she married on 30 may 1536. The king's and queen's initials are intertwined in love knots, and jane's motto "bound to obey and serve" appears on the lid and the foot. The resulting cup is described in henry's inventory as a "faier standing cuppe of gold garnished with diamounts and pearls" (foister, p. 87). This is the final design for the cup; the preliminary design is shown right. According to susan foister, it has been suggested by christian müller that this sheet is either the work of an assistant or a later copy, since it contains misinterpretations of holbein's original design. Date: 1536–37.