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? Flemish

Hat badge with St George and the dragon c. 1520

RCIN 442208

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Horenbout's miniature of Henry VIII is one of a group of seven miniatures (also including 420010; Royal Collection) of the king dating from c.1526-7 by this artist which mark the emergence of the miniature from the confines of the illuminated manuscript i

Henry VIII (1491-1547) ©

This beautiful badge was made by a highly skilled craftsman. It shows St George slaying a writhing dragon, while the princess kneels to the right. Although first recorded in the Royal Collection in 1830, by tradition it was presented to Henry VIII by the Emperor Maximilian. The subject of St George, patron of the Order of the Garter, would make an appropriate gift from the Emperor, who had been created a Knight of the Order in 1489. The badge would have been worn in the same way as the badge on Henry’s hat in the miniature shown.