17/06/2026
‘Tudor Hearth’
Marian Maguire
In the fireplace part of her 2 piece Tudor Hearth installation, Maguire explores the intertwined yet isolated lives of three royal cousins whose conflicting religions and claims to the throne made them mutual threats. Half-sisters Mary I and Elizabeth I rarely met, while Mary, Queen of Scots was raised in France and never met either cousin, corresponding only with Elizabeth later in life.
The front panel depicts Mary I positioned above scenes of burning martyrs, while to the left are the fingers of Henry VII. The top surface features the Tudor Rose, the traditional floral emblem of England that symbolized the end of the Wars of the Roses and the unification of the country under the House of Tudor. Emerging from either side are a sword and a gun. Beneath this appears the disembodied head of Mary, Queen of Scots. The base is decorated with a carpet, an object frequently included in royal portraits to signify power, wealth, and status. On the right, the legs of Henry VIII of England stand above the ruins of a dissolved monastery.
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