Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation

Collection

The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panel

The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panel

A full-face portrait of Elizabeth I seated between two sea scenes: on the left English ships and fireships against the Spanish fleet, on the right Spanish ships wrecked on a rocky shore. Her hand rests on a globe beside an imperial crown; the sea scenes and the globe are the symbols scholars read as the message of the picture.

Date
1588
Period
Pre-1914
Made by
Elizabethan court painter or workshop, anonymous (formerly attributed to George Gower)
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
England
Medium
Artwork
Issuer type
Individual
Regime
Tudor England
Leader
Elizabeth I
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Commemorate
Themes
War and the military, Empire and colonialism
Techniques
TransferGlittering generalities
Regime
Tudor England
Leader
Henry VIII
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
Wikimedia Commons (Royal Museums Greenwich, Queen's House), retrieved October 2, 2026
Rights
Public domain (PD-Art, work about 440 years old; Commons file page)
Anonymous, c. 1588, Royal Museums Greenwich (Queen's House), via Wikimedia Commons

Text on the object

Checked for printed text

No printed or legible text on this object.

Using the same techniques

Fragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouchesNew Kingdom EgyptFragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouches0000 · Card stacking, TransferClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three templesNeo Babylonian EmpireClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three temples0000 · TransferSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-BahriNew Kingdom EgyptSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-Bahri0000 · Transfer, TestimonialGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)Neo Babylonian EmpireGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)0000 · TransferLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at HerakleopolisNew Kingdom EgyptLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at Herakleopolis0000 · TransferLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of EgyptNew Kingdom EgyptLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt0000 · Card stacking, TransferContent noteGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCEAchaemenid EmpireEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCE0000 · Transfer