Oval, on vellum, in a rectangular dark-stained fruitwood veneer frame, 8.5cm. Painted circa 1670.
Barbara Villiers was also known as Lady Castlemaine, after her first husband, Roger Palmer, who she married in 1659, was created Earl of Castlemaine.
She became the mistress of Charles II the following year and eventually bore him five children.
About the time that this miniature was painted the king made her Duchess of Cleveland, their eldest son, Charles, inheriting the title as 2nd Duke of Cleveland on her death in 1709.
