This painted portrait of Salisbury merchant William Windover was made following his death to record and celebrate his gift of fifty pounds as a legacy to the Company of Shoemakers, as recorded in the inscription which also hopes his soul will rest with God forever. It is a memorial and a record of benefaction similar to those included elsewhere in this exhibition. But this portrait also establishes Windover’s reputation for posterity through a range of visual symbols. These symbols speak to the various routes to social and financial credit that many successful middling men used to build their status. <br /> <br /> The portrait includes a combination of ‘pseudo-armorials’, heraldic badges that reveal his biography as a citizen and professional. At top left is the arms of New Sarum (Salisbury), with the words ‘I Breed Him’. At top right is the arms of the Merchant Adventurers' Company of London and the words 'But I Fedd Him', and in the bottom left the arms of the Drapers' Company with 'I Made Him Free'. This suggests Windover’s successful career through professional guilds. In the bottom right is a shield bearing Windover's merchant's mark with the date 1633, likely the year of his death, and the words 'Yet Knowne by Me' (remembered by both the men listed within the inscription as witnesses to his gift and, presumably, by the viewer looking on his image).<br /> <br /> There are other signs in this posthumous portrait that construct his reputation as a highly literate man of business; he is holding a letter while dipping a quill into the fancy inkstand prominent in the foreground, which also holds a seal and wax. The black clothing may indicate a strict form of Protestant piety, but it also exhibits his wealth (note the impression of velvet in the cloak and the fine quality of ruff and cuffs.
Portrait of Salisbury merchant (Painting), c.1633

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Portrait of Salisbury merchant

Portrait of Salisbury merchant (Painting), c.1633

This painted portrait of Salisbury merchant William Windover was made following his death to record and celebrate his gift of fifty pounds as a legacy to the Company of Shoemakers, as recorded in the inscription which also hopes his soul will rest with God forever. It is a memorial and a record of benefaction similar to those included elsewhere in this exhibition. But this portrait also establishes Windover’s reputation for posterity through a range of visual symbols. These symbols speak to the various routes to social and financial credit that many successful middling men used to build their status.

The portrait includes a combination of ‘pseudo-armorials’, heraldic badges that reveal his biography as a citizen and professional. At top left is the arms of New Sarum (Salisbury), with the words ‘I Breed Him’. At top right is the arms of the Merchant Adventurers' Company of London and the words 'But I Fedd Him', and in the bottom left the arms of the Drapers' Company with 'I Made Him Free'. This suggests Windover’s successful career through professional guilds. In the bottom right is a shield bearing Windover's merchant's mark with the date 1633, likely the year of his death, and the words 'Yet Knowne by Me' (remembered by both the men listed within the inscription as witnesses to his gift and, presumably, by the viewer looking on his image).

There are other signs in this posthumous portrait that construct his reputation as a highly literate man of business; he is holding a letter while dipping a quill into the fancy inkstand prominent in the foreground, which also holds a seal and wax. The black clothing may indicate a strict form of Protestant piety, but it also exhibits his wealth (note the impression of velvet in the cloak and the fine quality of ruff and cuffs.

Object Type Painting
Year c.1633
Material Oil on canvas
Owned By Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum
Keywords portrait; clothing, literacy, writing, guilds, benefaction, memorial, charity.
Image Credit William Windover of New Sarum (d.1633), Merchant Adventurer of Sarum, Benefactor of the Company of Shoemakers (1632)  c.1633, by Frances Lovibond © Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.

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