Images(5)

Needlework Picture, The Senses of Touch and Smell, by Unknown Maker

Date1650-1675

OriginEngland

MediumSilk and metallic thread on a satin ground, metal purl, spangles, mica, wooden frame with carved gilt inner band

DimensionsOH: 14" x OW: 18 3/4" (framed)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1962-110

DescriptionThis is a needlework picture with two central female figures. In the top left corner is a large building, likely a castle or palace, with mica windows. Most of the structure's embroidery has either disintegrated or was never finished, as much of the structure's underdrawing can be seen. To the right of the building is a pear tree with a perching bird and a squirrel that attempts to climb up its side. To the right of the tree is a decorative flower, and next to that is a windmill. In the upper right corner is a fruit tree with a snake. The top border of the picture features polychrome clouds with a sun made of metal strips and embroidered beams.

In the bottom left corner is a lion sitting on a green ground. In the center bottom of the picture are two female figures. The figure on the (viewer's) left has a bird perched upon her left hand. The bird pecks at the woman's hand. She is placed in water, with her left foot stepping on a turtle. The woman on the right holds two flowers. The two female figures both have shoulder-length hair and wear belted, skirted bodices with full skirts, and flowing stoles. In between the two figures are flowers and insects. In the bottom right corner, next to the female figure on the right, is a small grotto and lake with a fish and frog.

Throughout the picture, there are flowers, animals such as a parrot, kingfisher, dog, rabbit, butterflies, and a variety of insects. The surface of the satin ground is peppered with spangles which would have once shone, but because of oxidation are now black. The picture sits in a wooden and gilt frame which is likely not original.

Stitches: couching, French knots, long and short, outline, overtwisting, satin stitch
Label TextThis needlework picture depicts the sense of Touch and Smell as fashionably-dressed women. Touch, on the viewer's left, holds a bird that pecks at her hand, while Smell, on the right, smells a small bunch of flowers. The two figures are surrounded by images common in seventeenth-century needlework and beadwork, including a castle, lion, and grotto.
ProvenanceEx coll: Mildred Alice Carr, Weston, Bath, England.