Enamel on copper, in a gold openwork frame of scrolls decorated with cornucopia spilling pink and blue enamelled flowers, entwined with a band inscribed: ‘Han: Sophia Counts (sic) of Exeter,’ diameter 3.8cm.
Hannah Sophia was the daughter of Thomas Chambers, a Derby businessman and the wife of Brownlow, 8th Earl of Exeter (1701-1754), to whom she was married in 1724.
The Countess is shown in 16th Century costume, sometimes described as depicting Mary, Queen of Scots.
Zincke, who was born in Germany, moved to England as a young man to work in the studio of the Swedish enamellist Charles Boit (1662-1727).
When Boit moved to France some years later, Zincke inherited his many fashionable clients and in due course, became the most successful enamellist of his time.
