This precious object is a rare survivor from the jewellery collection of Queen Elizabeth I. It is thought to date from the early 1570s. At the centre is an image of Elizabeth I; on the reverse a phoenix rises from the flames, from which the object gets its name: the Phoenix Jewel. It could have been presented to the queen as a gift by one of her courtiers, an ambassador or a suitor. The idealised image of the queen is a good example of the way in which artists represented the virtue and majesty of Elizabeth as she approached her fortieth birthday. The Phoenix Jewel, is an excellent starting point for engaging students with the cultural and political history of Elizabethan England.