Exclusive: pendant appears in 1635 painting Sir Thomas Aston at the Deathbed of His Wife that hangs in the Manchester Art Gallery
A Hamnet-era mourning jewel has been rediscovered four centuries after it was immortalised in one of Britain’s most enigmatic and celebrated 17th‑century family portraits.
The heart‑shaped pendant was depicted in Sir Thomas Aston at the Deathbed of His Wife, the 1635 life‑size, mourning masterpiece that was painted predominantly in black and white by the Cheshire artist John Souch. It hangs in the Manchester Art Gallery.
Aston’s beloved wife, Magdalen, had died in childbirth months earlier and is depicted after death, lying beside the wicker cradle of their dead baby. Her bereaved husband, dressed in black, stands with their sole surviving child, three-year-old Thomas, who points to an inscription: “Grief is immeasurable.”
They experienced more than their fair share of tragedy. Young Thomas was to die a year later, and their other children, Robert, Elizabeth and Jane, also perished as youngsters.
