Agnes Douglas, Countess of Argyll
Agnes Douglas, Countess of Argyll, the “Pearl of Lochleven”
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Lady Agnes Douglas was born at Lochleven Castle in Scotland in 1574 and she and her sisters were so famed for their beauty that they were often called the “Pearls of Lochleven”
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Lady Agnes married the 7th Earl of Argyll in 1592, a powerful soldier and statesman and she gave birth to two daughters but died in 1607, only a month after giving birth to her only son, Archibald Campbell, who became the most influential member of the Covenanter religious movement against Charles I during the English Civil War
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This portrait of her is thought to have been painted by the Flemish artist Adrian Vanson in 1599, when she was twenty-five years old. The painting is a treasure trove of information on 16th century jewellery as the super trendy Countess is depicted wearing massive quantities of pearl, gold and diamond jewellery
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📷 National Galleries of Scotland