Images(7)

Raised Work Picture of Betrothal Scene by Unknown Maker

Dateca. 1660

OriginEngland

MediumSilk and metallic threads on a silk satin ground, metal, metal purl, mica, beads

DimensionsOW: 22 1/4" x OH: 17 1/2"

Credit LineAnonymous gift

Object number1971-1716

DescriptionThis is a raised work picture featuring a betrothal amongst a landscape of buildings, formal gardens, and trees. The work is completed with polychrome and metallic silk threads on a white silk satin ground. A raised-work man and woman, a king and queen, stand underneath an elaborate gold and silver tent in the bottom middle of the picture. The man holds a hat in his hands. Both figures wear fashions of the former half of the seventeenth century. Flanking the tent are a unicorn, lion, leopard, and stag, all seated on grass. Behind them, at the edges of the picture, are two architectural structures. On the (viewer's) left side is a portion of a building with minute human figures standing on a balcony. Next to it is a small, unfinished building, with just its black outlines visible. On the right side of the image is a domed structure with many mica windows. In the middle of one of the panes is a man's head. Behind the building is a gated area, from which minute people stare at the betrothal. Between these structures are a field with two human figures (one of whom rides a horse), a body of water with two ducks, and a now-faded brick wall.

Behind this brick wall is, on the left side, a series of fields with fruit trees. At the forefront of this section, two women recline next to an oversized basket of flowers. Behind them, figures climb the fruit trees. On the right side is a formal garden, in which people stroll. This is surrounded by a shrub-covered colonnade, from which figures gaze at the betrothal.

Behind this group is a wall that separates the structures and formal garden from nature. The left half of the wall is made up of trees dotted with Baroque gates. On the right side is another grassy colonnade in which minute figures stroll. Behind this are rolling hills. On the left is a shepherd playing his flute for his sheep. Next to him is a small stream that leads to a village in the distance, followed by a hunter following several running animals. To his right is a gesturing shepherd in front of a horse-drawn carriage with a miniscule person inside it. On the far right is another gesturing shepherd. On the far right side is half of a fountain. In between these tiny vignettes are three large trees, an apple tree, pear tree, and oak tree, all with three-dimensional fruit. A parrot sits inside the apple tree and a kingfisher in the oak tree. At the top two corners of the picture are bunches of metallic thread clouds. In between the trees are a shining sun and a crescent moon with stars.

Stitches: chain, couching, detached buttonhole, French knots, long and short, needle lace, overtwisting, satin
Label TextThis exceptional needlework picture shows the betrothal of a royal couple amidst a grand setting of heraldic creatures, fruit trees, and formal gardens. The detail of this picture, which includes miniscule depictions of figures climbing trees to pick fruit and figures being driven by a horse-drawn carriage, provides twenty-first-century viewers with a rich depiction of the life of seventeenth-century individuals who were wealthy enough to be in the same realm as members of royalty.
ProvenanceEx coll: Tomlinson. Labels on back: "O//ens on Wabash Avenue, Chicago' "Early 18th Century English Furniture/ Kent Gallery Ltd. 44 Conduit Street, London W 1"