17th-century mourning pendant depicted in 1635 painting rediscovered after 400 years

A heart-shaped mourning pendant from the Hamnet period has been rediscovered after 400 years, featured in John Souch's 1635 artwork 'Sir Thomas Aston at the Deathbed of His Wife.' This jewel honors the memory of six-year-old Robert Aston, who passed away in 1634, and includes a tassel made from his blond hair. Souch’s painting intricately depicts a skull encircled by a golden wreath, adorned with black and white enamel and Latin phrases expressing parental sorrow. The actual pendant, which reveals details not visible in the artwork, remained with the Aston family until 1862. Its current owners recognized its importance during a recent exhibition and contacted historian Martyn Downer, who appraised it at £650,000. Downer will showcase the pendant at the Treasure House Fair from June 24 to 30. Fiona Corridan from Manchester Art Gallery, home to the painting, expressed enthusiasm about the find and hopes for its reunification. Sir Thomas Aston, portrayed grieving for his wife Magdalen and their lost children, was a royalist and theologian who died at 44 due to injuries from the English Civil War.