Hever Castle’s Curator, Alison Palmer, recognised the bejewelled, silver gilt binding of the book from the famous portrait of Thomas Cromwell painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1532-3 which is in the Frick Collection, New York. Since Alison’s remarkable discovery, she has worked alongside Kate McCaffrey and Dr Owen Emmerson to uncover the mystery of the book’s ownership.
Previously little was known about the early provenance of this prayer book. However now Hever’s team has uncovered a compelling provenance trail that links the book from its donor, Dame Anne Sadleir, directly back to Thomas Cromwell. A team of experts, including historian, author and television presenter Tracy Borman, have reviewed the exciting new evidence and have confidence that this is the very same book in the Holbein painting and that it belonged to Thomas Cromwell.
This book is thought to be the only object from any Tudor portrait to survive to this day and the first time the book has been lent from Trinity College since it was received on August 10, 1660.
Alison said: “It is thrilling to be a part of the solving of this 400-year-old mystery. Seeing the evolution of the Curatorial team’s research from my kernel of an assumption, just under a year ago to the final identification of this book’s original owner is the finding of a lifetime. I am enormously proud of the hard work that Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey have put into untangling the mystery that was this book and I am excited to see where this may now lead for not only Hever, but also the Frick Collection and the Wren Library.”
Cromwell’s prayer book is on display until November 2023 as part of the Castle’s exhibition Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers which showcases the similarities between Catherine and Anne.
An image of the Frick portrait is also on display for visitors and there will be an accompanying catalogue on the Thomas Cromwell discovery, Holbein’s hidden gem: rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s lost book.
