Images(4)

Beadwork Picture

Date1650-1675

OriginEngland

MediumSilk and linen threads on a satin ground with colored opaque and translucent glass beads

DimensionsOL: 21 3/4" x OH: 15 3/4" (unframed)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1962-108

DescriptionThis is a rectangular, unframed beadwork picture showing figures of Hope, Charity, and Faith. The top border features a line of clouds in dark blue, light blue, gold, and silver beads with a gold and silver sun. Below this is a series of small landscapes. Blank areas are dotted with stylized, small birds that resemble tiny crosses, as well as butterflies and eight-legged insects. In the left corner is a grotto made of silver, tan, burnt sienna, white, and dark blue beads. To the right of it is a butterfly, and to the right of that is a lion sitting under a leafy oak tree, flanked by a fruit tree with a perching bird on each side. Areas of blank satin are covered with insects and butterflies. In the right corner is a brick structure, likely a castle, with three towers, each with a flag on top. It is surrounded by three butterflies.

Below this series of landscape vignettes is a series of six figures. In the bottom left corner is a woman, the virtue of Hope, holding an anchor. To her left is a leafy oak tree, below which is a white rabbit. To her right, in the bottom center of the picture, is a female figure, the virtue of Charity, with her chest entirely exposed. She holds a small child on her knee and is flanked by one small male children on each side. In the bottom right corner is another female figure, the virtue of Faith, with an open book on her knee. She gestures upward with her right hand. She sits below an oak tree, below which is a gray dog.

Flanking the figure of Charity is a strawberry plant and an orange flower plant. The female figures all have shoulder-length hair, and wear flowing stoles and long sleeved, full-length gowns. The two boys are similarly dressed in fitted doublets, knee breeches, and stockings.
Label TextThis beadwork picture features the "Three Theological Virtues," represented by three female figures. The personification of Hope holds a large anchor, Charity exposes her chest and holds at child on her knee, and Faith has an open book in her lap. The beadwork picture also features a grotto, lion, and castle, motifs typical of mid-seventeenth-century British beadwork and needlework.
InscribedNone
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceEx coll: Mildred Alice Carr, Weston, Bath, England.