Artwork story
About Maria Scotorv Regin et Franciae Dotaria, from "Heads of the Kings of England, and of several Famous Persons"
The artist and artwork
London engraver and antiquary George Vertue made Maria Scotorv Regin et Franciae Dotaria in 1735 for Heads of the Kings of England, and of several Famous Persons. Its Latin title identifies Mary Stuart as Queen of Scots and dowager queen of France. Vertue combined etching and engraving: etched scaffolding establishes broad forms, while tightly controlled engraved lines model her face, lace, velvet, jewelry, drapery, and dark oval surround. He did not portray Mary from life; the print's lower inscription instead says it followed an ancient painting dated 1580 at Saint James's Palace.
The world around it
The plate belonged to the illustrated world of Paul de Rapin de Thoyras's History of England, translated by Nicholas Tindal and published in Georgian London. A related Met volume gathers Vertue's heads of rulers and famous people as historical evidence and dynastic theater. Mary had been queen of Scotland from infancy, briefly queen consort of France, forced to abdicate in 1567, and imprisoned in England for more than eighteen years before her 1587 execution. Nearly 150 years later, the print turns that contested Tudor-era life into an ordered page for readers who encountered national history through books and reproducible portraits.
A detail to notice
This is not a neutral oval likeness. A crowned skull peers from behind the upper curtain and a bony hand extends beside it, making death reveal the queen. Below, an executioner's axe crosses royal emblems, while a crown, shield, scepters, fleurs-de-lis, and repeated letter M compress Mary's Scottish and French identities into heraldry. She wears a broad lace ruff, cross pendant, long chains, and a dark fur-edged gown but meets us quietly, without the surrounding drama's movement. Vertue signs and dates the plate at lower right. The composition therefore asks the portrait to do two jobs at once: preserve a ruler's face and interpret her fate.
Look closer: materials, scale, and subjects
The recorded object is print made in Etching and engraving and held in the Drawings and Prints department.
Recorded dimensions include Sheet (trimmed): 11 1/2 × 7 1/2 in. (29.2 × 19 cm).
Subject terms include Skulls, Portraits, Women, Coat of Arms, and Mary Queen of Scots. Treat them as guideposts, not a complete interpretation.
Collection history and public-domain source
The collection credit line is Gift of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1958.
The individual artwork page and official image were verified as Public Domain on 2026-08-23.
No Context Gallery independently uses the public-domain image. The source museum has not endorsed, sponsored, or affiliated itself with these products.
Research sources
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