The Wilton Diptych

The diptych depicts Richard II being presented to the Virgin and Child by the English or French school. On the left wing the king kneels in adoration before the Virgin and Child and receives the benediction of the Childwith outstretched hands. On the right wing eleven angels with wings upraised surround the Virgin. The back of the work bears Richard's arms and his personal emblem of a white hart chained with a crown around its neck. The date and nationality of the diptych and the event which inspired it are matters of controversy. Opinion varies between a date early in Richard's reign and connection with a projected crusade or the Wat Tyler rebellion; and a late date with Richard's marriage to Isabella of France as the possible occasion. It is called The Wilton Diptych because it came from Wilton House in Wiltshire, the seat of the Earls of Pembroke.