Needlework Picture by Unknown Maker
Date1580-1600
OriginGreat Britain
MediumSilk and wool threads on a linen canvas ground, walnut frame (identification of fibers by eye)
DimensionsOW: 21" x OH: 13 1/2" (framed)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1938-135
DescriptionThis is a framed needlework picture executed in silk and wool threads on a linen canvas ground. The scene shows six figures, four women and two men, gathered around a table outdoors. One woman, with her back toward us, sits in a chair. She wears a blue gown and a starched, upright ruff. She extends her right arm and places it onto the left shoulder of the man sitting next to her. The man wears an entirely red ensemble of a doublet, breeches, and hose, along with a lacy ruff. His left arm extends to the back of the woman in blue, while his right hand points to the woman to his right. She wears a gown that has a now faded green-gray vine pattern. She also wears a small ruff and has her hair up in an Elizabethan hairstyle. She puts her left hand on the chest of the woman next to her. This woman next to her wears a gold gown with an upright ruff. She has an Elizabethan hairstyle with a feather in her hair. She puts her left hand to the cheek of the woman in the vine dress. Her other hand rests on the table. The woman next to her on the other side stands. She wears a red gown, which is now faded. She wears an upright ruff and Elizabethan hairstyle and looks to her right side, out of the frame of the image. The man below her, in the viewer's bottom left corner, wears a blue doublet and breeches, red hose, black shoes, and slicked back hair. There are several trees in the background, as well as flowers in the foreground. The scene is bordered by scrolling vines bearing fruits and flowers, including freesias, pears, grapes, and roses. The needlework picture is in a frame of burl walnut.
Stitches: tent
Label TextThis needlework picture is a rare survival from the Elizabethan era. It shows a group of six finely-dressed figures, four women and two men, socializing around a table outdoors. The shading and relatively crude execution of this picture indicates that it was likely made by an amateur needleworker rather than a professional. This amateur needlework would probably have been a young woman. The survival of this woman's needlework approximately 400 years after she stitched it is extremely rare and therefore quite poignant.
InscribedNone
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceEx. Coll: Earl of Linlithgow
1660-1680
ca. 1780