The Pegme of the Dutchmen

What it is

This is an engraved print by William Kip, published in 1604, of a multi-tiered triumphal arch called a pegma. The media description notes obelisks, statues, heraldic shields, Latin inscriptions and small scenes at the base, and a central royal figure seated in a niche. The curator's note says the arch was built for James's royal entry into London in 1604. The print is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Why it matters

Royal entries were public ceremonies in which a new ruler was welcomed into the capital. Temporary structures like this one carried messages about the monarch's power, virtue and right to rule. Prints such as this spread the images of these displays to people who could not see them in person. The print shows how James wanted to be seen by his English subjects soon after he arrived from Scotland.

Look closer

• Where is the king placed in the design, and what does that position suggest about his importance?
• What do the inscriptions and small scenes at the base seem to say, and who would have been able to read them?
• Why might a print of a temporary structure have been made and sold, and what does it leave out?