In the Elizabethan era symbols within portraiture was extremely important and was a way of communicating with the rest of the world. The sitter was able to express his/her attitudes,emotion etc to a lot of people who were able to view the portraits. It was almost a way of propaganda to the rest of the world. Elizabeth I only let a certain amount of artists paint her and if she didn't like the portrait then it would be destroyed. It was very important to her how she portrayed herself to the rest of her country.
Tudor Rose
This symbol was used to refer to the previous tudor reigns within the family. It was also a medieval symbol of the virgin Mary, therefore Elizabeth used this a lot in her portraits to express 'virginity'.
Pelican
The Pelican was used to symbolise Elizabeth's motherly love of her subjects. Mother pelicans were known to pluck their own breasts when their children were in need of a food supply. This shows that Elizabeth was loyal to the people of her country and would help them in times of need.
Phoenix
The phoenix was a mythological bird that never dies. Only 1 phoenix lives at a time therefore this used to symbolise Elizabeth's uniqueness and longevity to the throne.
Sieve
The sieve was a symbol of virginity and purity. It dated back to ancient roman times where the vestel virgin (Tuccia) proved her virginity by carrying around unspilt water in a sieve. Elizabeth used this in her portraits to symbolise her purity and also links with England and the Roman Empire.
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