The Anne Boleyn Chair

The Beginning

In 2022, antiques dealer Paul Fitzsimmons, a renowned specialist in rare Tudor-era artifacts, discovered an extraordinary early 16th-century chair. It is believed that the chair was made for young Anne Boleyn while she served at the French royal court between 1514 and 1521.

The unforgettable saga of Anne Boleyn—an English woman raised in French high society who returned home, attracted a powerful king who moved heaven and earth to marry her, made her Queen, and had her executed mere years later—is compelling, even today.

Research on the chair illuminates the obscure yet significant early years of Henry VIII's second wife, during which she served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France from 1515 to 1521. Its iconography provides an enticing insight into the maturing Anne Boleyn; perhaps more prescient, an impression of the core values held by the future Queen of England.

Paul Fitzsimmons established Marhamchurch Antiques in 1991; he is widely recognized as one of the UK’s leading specialists in early oak furniture and works of art, with a particular focus on the Tudor and early Stuart periods. With a lifelong passion for the history and material culture of the 16th century, Fitzsimmons combines deep research with connoisseurship to uncover and document rare pieces. Most recently, he found and restored an English oak-carved falcon badge, a remarkable and hence important representative symbol in the heraldry of Queen Anne Boleyn. The wooden carving, still possessing its 16th-century gold leaf and silver pigment, is widely believed to have been part of the decorations at Hampton Court Palace, a favored residence of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.

Descriptions and interpretations of the symbols featured on the chair will be published in a series. Each motif will be described, accompanied by photos and a discussion of its meaning.

What becomes eminently clear when viewing this particular chair, with its distinctive and unusual bas-relief carvings, is that it intends to present a message or a story. Unlike many other chairs of this style and era, whose carvings are purely decorative, these images make an unmistakable statement about the chair's purpose. It is therefore up to the viewer to read the information offered and determine what it may reveal about the life versus the legend of Anne Boleyn.

The Rose and the Dolphin

The chair's construction features a carved walnut backpanel, a wood preferred by early French furniture makers. The remainder of the structure is oak and measures 32 1/2” wide, 76 1/2” high, and 19 3/4” deep. Style and finish indicate sourcing from the Loire Valley region of France. It is of the early Renaissance cathedra type, with an exceptionally arresting sculpted panel.

The most conspicuous element on the pictorial includes two naked putti-like figures, incised in the hybrid Late Gothic–Renaissance manner, which flank and hold a shield inscribed with the initials Ab. A knotted cord, or more accurately a cordeliére, entwines the monogram. Beneath the figures, a pair of dolphins rise symmetrically; from their bound tails springs a precisely rendered English Tudor rose. It is a Tudor rose articulated as described in heraldic terms: 'a Tudor rose, slipped and leaved.' Its position on the backrest is significant: it lies directly behind the sitter's heart. The rose's stem is clasped by the splayed tails of the two dolphins. Dauphin, the French word for dolphin, is the historical title for the heir to the French throne. Binding the stem and tails is a band that may represent a wedding band. In this case, the symbolic dolphins securing a newly sprung English rose can mean little else than the union of the French throne with the English; a merger of two dynasties.

The Grand Celebration 

French King Louis XII had two daughters, born of his second wife, the legendary Anne of Brittany: Claude and Renée. Claude, the elder sister, was married to Francis, son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and the formidable Louise of Savoy. When Louis XII died lacking a male heir, the throne passed to his son-in-law, Francis. He was crowned François I, King of France, in January of 1515, and Claude became queen consort.

Examining available documentation listing women who served Claude, the new Queen, Anne Boleyn's name does not appear. Instead, we find records of 'Mademoiselle Boleyne' and another of 'Marie Boulonne' in the French archives; both seem to refer to Mary, Anne's sister. It is unclear why Anne's name is not reflected in these documents. 

Yet we do have a reliable record that Anne Boleyn served Claude. It comes via Claude's younger sister Renée, who married Ercole II d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara. Renée, Duchess of Ferrara, lived in Italy for many years. But after her husband died, she returned to France. There, in 1561, she told Nicholas Throckmorton, the English ambassador to France, that she had known Anne Boleyn at court when Anne served her sister, Claude. 

Sir Thomas Boleyn, K.B., was a trusted diplomat and multilingual, proficient in French. Evidence shows that he was well-liked by the mighty French female triumvirate consisting of King Francis' mother, Louise of Savoy; his sister, Marguerite d'Angouleme; and his wife, Queen Claude. As a result, Thomas was able to secure a much-sought-after place for his daughter, Anne, as a demoiselle in Claude's household. Anne and Claude were about the same age, and the fact that Anne remained in France for seven years, serving Claude, suggests a positive relationship between the two young women. 

Anne, by this time, had acquired fluency in French, and her bilingual abilities were undoubtedly employed throughout her years of association with Claude, as Claude reportedly spoke little or no English. It seems logical that Anne would have been regularly in demand as an interpreter, especially at key occasions when English ambassadors were in attendance with the French royals and courtiers.

By late 1517, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and Papal Legate Lorenzo Campeggio were busy arranging a desired and critical treaty between France and England. It was to be called the Treaty of Eternal Peace, and its agreements were to be secured by the betrothal of the nine-month-old Dauphin, son of François I and Claude, with two-year-old Mary, the princess daughter of Henry VIII and Queen Katharine of Aragon. 

As English ambassador to France in 1518, Thomas Boleyn played a significant role in planning the event, including establishing the embassy that represented Henry VIII at the French celebrations. Those ambassadors included the Earl of Worcester, Sir Thomas Docwra, Sir Nicholas Vaux, the Bishop of Ely, and twenty other high-ranking English gentlemen. This party of delegates attended the preliminary events, especially the spectacular banquet that François hosted to celebrate the betrothal in the most glorious style possible. He ordered a specially constructed venue in the central courtyard of the Bastille on the evening of the 22nd of December, 1518. A description of the fantastic event was recorded by Edward Hall and by eyewitness Marino Sanuto, the Venetian statesman and diarist.

The grand soiree, specifically designed to honor the betrothal of the Dauphin and the Princess Mary, was attended by the magnificently attired, once-again pregnant Queen Claude, as well as by other noblewomen of the French court. Claude—Queen and the mother of the Dauphin—sat in a specially constructed gallery to afford her broad view of the proceedings:

...The Most Holy Queen and the Most Illustrious Madame stood continually to watch the celebration above one of the altars on the side of the tribunal, and Her Majesty was richly dressed, and had around her neck a chain of countless very large pearls, each of great value. This celebration was truly superb and pompous, and one of the most beautiful ever given in Parma at the trial of the old men of long memory; it gave not only pleasure but great admiration to the aforementioned orators and the others of their company .

Each English ambassador would have visited Queen Claude in her place of honor and greeted her with respect. She conversed with them. Not only were there private conversations throughout the long night of celebration, but also many speeches and salutations from both the French nobles and the English delegates:

... the principal tables being drawn over a rib eminent for three or so degrees, placed at the head, and on the side in the background the majesty of the King; To her, on the left side, was the most illustrious Duchesse d'Alençon, her sister; on the right was the Most Reverend Legate, and on each side, in order, a man and a woman; at which tables, however, only the princes of the royal blood, the Duke of Ferara, the cardinals, and the orators were present.

Claude was required to handle the politically charged interactions with the Englishmen deftly; she needed an interpreter fluent in English and French who understood the nuances of Englishmen's behavior and culture. Claude, we know, spoke no English. By necessity, Claude's interpreter would have been seated next to her.

Sir Thomas Boleyn played a critical role in organizing and executing the event. Ambassador to France during a delicate time in the flourishing relationship between the two countries, it would have been politically advantageous for him to have trusted eyes and ears within the French court, particularly at such an important event. Given Thomas Boleyn's importance to members of the French court and the likelihood that his daughter, Anne Boleyn, had developed a trusted relationship with her mistress, Queen Claude, it is proposed that Claude's interpreter was Anne Boleyn. And as interpreter for the Queen, she would have been appropriately seated, in a place of some honor, adjacent to Claude in the chair to be used for that very purpose.

The Icons

The viewer's eye then travels to the plaque, held centrally by the two naked putti. Within the plaque is the monogram Ab, which is wound with a cordeliére, a symbol of spiritual devotion, much revered in the French royal courts of Anne of Brittany and her daughter, Queen Claude of France. A study of the monogram Ab yields particular interest in the 'A'. It is a distinctive signature A and is extant in early 16th-century manuscripts, painted miniatures, carvings at Hampton Court Palace, and stained-glass windows. The Flemish Horenbout family of artists, originating in Ghent in the late 15th century, produced works across many media. The family patriarch, Gheraert, a prominent member of the Painters Guild of St Luke, was named official court painter to Margaret of Austria in 1515. 

Although he lived in Ghent by Margaret's permission, he was expected to be accessible upon command. His artistic reach was wide, and in 1518, he operated at the very center of the diplomatic universe, connecting Francis I, Henry VIII, and Margaret of Austria's court at Mechelen, which was, in essence, the fulcrum of that world. If a luxury object — a manuscript, any decorative commission — was designed in the Horenbout circle or school, it would almost certainly have passed through or been shaped by the Mechelen court sphere that Margaret controlled and that Horenbout served.

Gheraert Horenbout was also well known to English Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who commissioned numerous works from him. Gheraert's son, Lucas, enjoyed an artistic career of considerable renown at the Tudor court after arriving in England in 1526 at approximately 27 years of age. Gheraert, Lucas, and his sister Susanna all created and used distinguishing designs of certain letters of the alphabet, especially in historiated illuminations. 

These signature renderings are recognizable and traceable to Horenbout work. The chair's monogram features an A, one of the most distinctive elements of Horenbout design.  Noted by historian Susan E. James: The chair's A "... paraphrases Horenbout work, especially Lucas." James, in her article "The Horenbout family workshop at the Tudor court, 1522–1541: Collaboration, patronage and production" states that "Lucas employs the form that ultimately became his signature, a flourished Gothic-style A with bird’s wing crossbar ...It is the bird’s wing crossbar, evident on nearly all of Lucas’ surviving work, that marks that work as his." 

What Lucas created before he departed from the Netherlands for England is not well documented. Given the level of skill he demonstrated in England, we can be sure he was a productive member of the Horenbout studio workshop in the Low Countries; in all likelihood, he completed various commissions for wealthy, noble, and possibly royal patrons. Although no signed or authenticated work by Lucas has survived, "evidence suggests the types of projects he undertook for the King...documentary evidence suggests that he also designed woodcuts and painted props for revels."

The chair's central motif—putti holding a shield or a plaque—is the subject of an obvious simile in the Psalter of Anne Boleyn, held today at Wormsley Library. Susan James suggests the illuminations of the psalter are the work of the Horenbout family. "... An examination of the work, particularly of the monogram facing Psalm 110, suggests the hand of Lucas Horenbout. In addition to his signature Gothic A, set in a frame that features the Horenbout design of repeating recessed rectangles, the armorial shield repeats motifs from the Wolsey manuscripts by presenting two putti against a background of corded lovers knots."

On the Fitzsimmons chair, above the stamped letters, is a character which looks very much like a small crown. A device that included a boxed letter or letter/number motif fits the long-standing French practice for noble and royal households. This imprint, therefore, strengthens the attribution to a French courtly context in the early 16th century. The mark, which appears to be a crown, would indicate ownership by a crown establishment—a sovereign household. In direct comparison, an existing French Gothic sideboard with a confirmed dating to the first quarter of the 16th century displays a nearly identical mark on its side rib. 

Sold in 2009 by the esteemed French auction house Aguttes, it bears a stamped mark that closely resembles the cartouche on the Fitzsimmons chair. The sideboard was created as a ceremonial piece, bearing elaborate carvings and motifs. The beautiful execution of the woodworking is indicative of the skills developed by Flemish sculptors who settled in France from 1513 onward. Importantly, this particular piece is contemporary with the convent built by Margaret of Austria upon the death of her husband, Philibert, Duke of Savoy. That building project began in 1506, thus dating the sideboard and adding evidence for the very early 16th-century origin of the Fitzsimmons chair, based on the comparable inventory markings borne by both pieces.

On the right side of the chair, just below the arm rest near the panel of linenfold carving, is an etched device: VV. The double VV incised on the side arm is a well-known amulet, common in buildings, on furniture, and in chambers of the early 16th century. VV is known as a Marian mark and stands for "Virgo Virginum" (Virgin of Virgins). It was a symbol invoking the protection of the Virgin Mary. They are among the most common single graffiti marks found in medieval churches. 

These marks were carved onto church walls, door jams, wooden doors, and various locations in buildings as apotropaic (protective) devices to ward off evil and prevent demons from entering sacred or domestic spaces. Anne of Brittany and Claude shared a dedication to the Virgin Mary, as evidenced by beautiful illuminations in the prayerbooks they each once owned. Both mother and daughter clearly maintained and demonstrated strong Marian devotion through commissioning and use of their books, an essential part of daily spiritual practices. It is not surprising, then, that an item with significance would be branded with an insignia evoking Mary and her protective guidance.

Both inscriptions provide clear indicators of the chair's age, place of origin, and affiliation with the court of Claude of France and her husband, François I.

That brings us to the matter of the cordeliére carved upon the chair. The viewer can observe it purposefully wind its way through the monogram Ab. During the reigns of Anne of Brittany and Claude of France, the cord, or cordeliére, denoted piety and unity with the virtues espoused by St. Francis of Assisi. 

Claude's mother, Anne of Brittany, was a woman of devotional dedication. She was brilliant, cultured, and well-read, and she not only passed these traits on to her daughters but also nurtured their spiritual and intellectual lives. She encouraged the young women and girls who were fortunate enough to be part of her household, and recognized women of her court and other noblewomen who displayed the principles she espoused; those for which St Francis had been known: service to the poor and uncared for, humility, and an appreciation for beauty and nature. 

As an evangelical humanist, Anne of Brittany embodied Prudence and Concord, cultural ideals valued at that time. Perhaps inspired by her father, Francis II, Anne of Brittany founded an order for women in 1498, known as L’Ordre des Dames Chevalières de la Cordelière, or The Order of the Ladies of the Cord.

The symbol for this order was a looped and knotted cord. She bestowed the honor of membership on select ladies-in-waiting, widows, and noble women at her court who had clearly demonstrated charity, generosity, and piety. All who joined the Order were allowed to add the cord to their coats of arms.

Anne of Brittany, as French Queen,  used the symbol widely to represent her devotion to the cardinal virtues, with the association between 'cord' and con'corde' having relevance: Concorde,  meaning the maintenance of peace and unity within the individual, and the realm. What seems certain is that such an Order did exist, as established by Anne of Brittany. What is less clear is the exact purpose and coda of the Order, along with the qualifications the Queen used to award membership. 

Anne of Brittany was so devout that some sources say the cord represented the scourging of Christ, while others say it was a tribute to the knotted rope worn by Saint Francis of Assisi to cinch his monk's robes. (Her much-loved father’s name was Francis).  Laurent Hablot, in his paper To end, or begin, with the Order of the Cordeliere, states, "Let there be no mistake, there is much more behind this institution than a simple courtly pastime, but on the contrary, a true indicator of the real political weight of the duchess. Establishing whether or not Anne of Brittany sought to promote and develop an order allowing her to create, maintain, and reward loyalties is crucial to assessing her desire to maintain personal power as Duchess of Brittany."

When her mother, Anne of Brittany, died and Claude became Queen, she continued to use the knotted Franciscan cord, which attested to a movement cherished by Anne of Brittany's court around 1500. Following the death of Anne's first spouse, Charles VIII, in 1498, she founded the sisterhood of the tertiaries of Saint Francis. The device of the cord was characteristic of Claude's beloved mother and hence remained part of the realm of pious women.

Thus, we see the symbol of the cord appearing on many items that belonged to or were attributed to Claude. Fox and Guy, in Hunting the Falcon state, " (Claude) was fiercely protective of her identity and used methods that Anne (Boleyn) would remember, placing her badges and C monogram on wall paneling, masonry, and ceilings of her apartments and on her gold and silver plate, coffers and chests, her books and manuscripts...one was a swan pierced by an arrow, another an ermine; others included cordelieres and armillary spheres..."

Given her widespread use of the powerful emblem of the cord, which, to Claude, venerated her mother in all her admirable fortitude and faith, it is not surprising that Claude may have maintained the practice of honoring and appointing selected ladies to the Order. The ladies who were existing members, chosen by her mother, would retain their status and continue to be permitted to use the cord as an emblem on their badges or heraldry. And Claude, as head of the order, would naturally appoint her own women, named for the same qualities. 

There are various examples of cordeliéres that may have served as models for the carved cord on the chair plaque; one of the most precisely executed is illustrated in the funerary book dedicated to Anne of Brittany by Pierre Choque. The resemblance is undeniable, detailed down to the hatch marks on the wooden carving mimicking those on the illuminated cord. If the cord binding the monogram of Anne Boleyn represents Anne's honorary membership in the Order of the Ladies of the Cord, it would situate Anne among those women Claude chose to honor for their merit. This proposition provides us with a snapshot of the young Anne Boleyn, impressing her devout mistress, the Queen, with an excellent and virtuous moral character.