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The Countess of Kellie (d. 1622), who is traditionally thought to be the sitter of this imposing portrait, was one of the wealthiest members of noble society in Jacobean England. She was widowed twice before her marriage to Thomas Erskine in 1604. In 1606 Erskine became 1st Viscount Fenton, and in 1615 he was made a Knight of the Garter; four years later he became 1st Earl of Kellie. This portrait may well have been commissioned to mark the sitter's new rank as Countess of Kellie in 1619.
In a manner typical of Jacobean formal court portraiture, in which courtiers wished to stress, above all, their wealth and status, the lady stands before us in all her ?nery. Women courtiers depended on the ostentatious display of jewels, fashionable dresses made of expensive fabrics, and lush settings to convey their standing in their court portraits since-unlike their husbands, fathers, and brothers-they did not have tokens of of?ce (badges, wands, or sashes that stood as emblems of their court roles and duties).
She wears an elaborately tailored costume that epitomizes high court fashions between 1615 and 1620. Her red damask dress, richly embroidered throughout with patterns of gold and silver threads, has a full skirt and is worn without a farthingale (a wheel-shaped stiff underskirt worn perpendicular to the body at the waist); this type of dress, with matching fabric in all parts, clearly dates the portrait from the late 1610s. The low-cut bodice follows the fashion for daring décolletage made popular by Anne of Denmark, who was extremely proud of her translucent white skin. The long hanging outer sleeves that fall behind her arms are purely decorative;so too are the elaborately cuffed leather, lace, and embroidered gloves that she holds under her left hand-since it is unlikely that she would have worn such large gloves while the intricate lace cuffs remained attached to her sleeves. Especially noteworthy is the delicately patterned yellow lace used at her wrists, in her bodice, and for the standing-falling ruff: in the latter years of James I's reign, yellow lace was highly prized for its appearance and rarity. Her dress, gloves, and lace combine with the exquisitely designed jewels-most obviously the six ropes of pearls strung ostentatiously around her U-shaped bodice-to proclaim boldly her material riches and high rank.
Everything about the sitter and her surroundings indicates the luxury and privilege in which she lived and desired to be remembered. The book on the velvet chair cushion to her left, most likely a bible, may indicate her piety but, with its large format and richly decorated exterior, certainly does not suggest modesty. The domesticated parrot that crawls up her dress to fetch the piece of food she holds loosely in the ?ngers of her right hand is yet another symbol of her fortune: parrots and other species of exotic birds were prized as housepets and expensive curiosities in early modern England, and their presence in portraits of the period underlined the opulent and rare?ed tastes of their owners. In this case, however, the bird's surreptitious feeding also brings a touch of humor to what is otherwise a splendidly iconic and decorative portrait.

Julia Marciari-Alexander
Julia Marciari-Alexander, This other Eden, paintings from the Yale Center for British Art , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1998, p. 26, no. 2, ND1314.3 Y36 1998 (YCBA)