Queen Elizabeth of England wears a partlet exposing part of her throat as part of her colorful dress in this portrait, the "Pelican" portrait..
Marileecody has this description: "...Along with Hilliard's equally famous 'Phoenix Portrait,' this picture shows the growing stylization of images of the queen. Such stylization reached its apogee in the beautiful 'Rainbow Portrait' below. There is a closed imperial crown over each shoulder. The crown is on top of both a rose (on the left) and a fleur-de-lys (on the right.) These represent her dynastic claims to both England and France. The Pelican pendant on her breast symbolizes charity and redemption. It represents the queen's selfless love of her subjects. How? According to legend, the pelican pricked its own breast to feed its children with the blood. Elizabeth wore a pelican jewel in several state portraits to remind the English of her equally selfless love."
According to Norris, "Tudor Costume and Fashion," p. 495 (Dover re-issue 1997) - "...Elizabrth is wearing a similar shaped dress (earlier referred to as a Spanish farthingale -gogm) in deep red velvet. The rolls over the shoulders are very pronounced, and the sleeves and partlet are embroidered with Spanish work. Two red roses are tucked into the side of the bodice, and the whole dress is much bejeweled. The pelican in enamels worn as a pendant has given its name to the portrait."
Keywords: 1575, Hilliard, Queen Elizabeth Tudor, Tudor family, English, Queen, curly coiffure, crescent neckline, neck ruff, partlet, rolled sleeves, brooch, jeweled headdress, carcanet necklace, draped necklace, jeweled neckline, jeweled bodice, jeweled sleeves, jeweled skirt, tabbed bodice, under-skirt, jeweled arm bands, puffed cloth ornaments, farthingale, vee waistline, blackwork