Sir Percival Hart
Unknown artist
ca. 1565
Sir Percival Hart (1496-1560) was Chief Serverer and Knight Harbinger under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. In his right hand he holds the staff of his office, the hilt of which contained a watch said to have been presented to Henry VIII by the French king, Francois I, at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Hart supervised the provision of bread and salt to the monarch and had all food tasted by a Yeoman of the Guard before it was brought to the royal table. In his left hand, he grasps his elaborately decorated tasting knife.
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven · Image: Yale Center for British Art, Public domain · Text: Yale Center for British Art, CC0