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Perdita woman: Esther Inglis |
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Biography Esther Inglis, calligrapher, was born in 1570/1, probably in London. Her parents, Nicolas Langlois and Marie Presot, were French Huguenots who took refuge in England in about 1569, later settling in Edinburgh. Their daughter Esther seems always to have used the surname 'Inglis', the Scottish form of Langlois. In 1596, Esther married Bartholomew Kello, and by 1604 had moved with him to London. They had six children, of whom four lived to adulthood. Kello, a clergyman, held a church living in Essex between 1607 and 1614. In 1615 the family returned to Edinburgh, and Esther died at Leith in August 1624. Esther Inglis is regarded as one of the finest calligraphers to have worked in England or Scotland during the early modern period. She probably learnt her skills from her mother, who was an accomplished scribe. Fifty-nine of Inglis's manuscripts are known to survive, most dedicated to contemporary English, Scottish and French dignitaries such as the Earl of Essex, Anthony Bacon, Robert Sidney, Lucy Countess of Bedford, Robert Cecil, the Earl of Argyll, the Duke of Lennox, the Duc de Rohan and Catherine de Bourbon. She also made dedications to members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth, King James, Henry Prince of Wales and the future Charles I. Inglis's manuscripts typically consist of elaborately penned religious texts, frequently decorated with floral or animal patterns. She was accomplished in the use of many varieties of script, and also practised virtuosic effects such as mirror-writing and small-scale transcription (letters of c. 1 mm). It is likely that Inglis's manuscripts were produced both for financial and religious motives. She does not seem to have worked to commission, but rather presented her work to chosen patrons in hopes of financial reward. Her selection of religious texts - the Bible in the Geneva translation; the French poems Discours de la Foy, Pierre Du Val's De la Grandeur de Dieu and Pybrac's Quatrains - was no doubt designed to appeal to her co-religionists both in Britain and in France. Since she died in debt, it seems likely that her patrons were less generous than she had hoped. Biography by Gillian Wright. |
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Bodleian Library: MS Bodl. 987 Royal Library: Thott 323 Newberry Library: Wing MS ZW 645.K29 Newberry Library: Wing MS ZW 645.K292 British Library: Add. MS 22606 British Library: Add. MS 19633 National Library of
Scotland: MS Acc. 11821 British Library: MS Royal 17.D.XVI British Library: Add. MS 27927 British Library: MS Harl. 4324 British Library: MS Sloane 987 Bodleian Library: MS Bodl. 990 Berlin State Library: MS Lat. oct. 14 Christ Church
(Oxford) Library: MS 180 Royal Library: Gl. Kgl. Saml. 3380 Edinburgh University
Library: MS Laing III. 249 Edinburgh University
Library: MS Laing III. 439 Edinburgh University
Library: MS Laing III. 440 Edinburgh University
Library: MS Laing III. 522 Edinburgh University
Library: MS Laing III. 75 Folger
Library: MS V.a.91 Folger
Library: MS V.a.92 Folger
Library: MS V.a.93 Folger
Library: MS V.a.94 Houghton Library: MS Typ. 212 Houghton Library: MS Typ. 347 Houghton Library: MS Typ. 428 Houghton Library: MS Typ. 428.1 Houghton Library: MS Typ. 49 Huntington
Library: MS HM 26068 Pierpont Morgan Library: MS 2149 Pierpont Morgan Library: MS W. 72 National Library of Scotland: MS Acc. 7633 National Library of
Scotland: MS 20498 National Library of
Scotland: MS 2197 National Library of
Scotland: MS 8874 Bibliotheque Nationale: MS francais 14849 National Archives of
Scotland: Dep. GD 18/4508 National Library of
Sweden: Cod. Holm. A. 781 Royal Library,
Windsor Castle: No reference. |