Style of François Clouet (c. 1520-72), Charles IX, King of France (1550-1574), c.1572-1590. Watercolour on vellum; 4.1 x 3.2 cm. RCIN 420018. Royal Collection © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

ased on a drawing attributed to François Clouet in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, of c. 1572, and from which is derived an important version in miniature by François Clouet (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). The miniature in Vienna is housed in a highly elaborate portrait box together with one of Catherine de' Medici. The present miniature is, however, less accomplished than the version in Vienna and is by a separate, contemporary hand. It is housed within a gold locket enclosed within the nineteenth-century gilt-bronze frame by Hatfield.