This framed picture is an extremely fine and well-preserved example of stumpwork and is dated between 1660 and 1685. Stumpwork, or raised work, is an elaborate form of three-dimensional embroidery in which parts of the design are raised in high relief from the background by outlining and padding up with horsehair, wool or pieces of wood covered with thick silk or satin. Metallic gold threads and spangles were often added to the designs.

The design is typical of those produced in 17th century England. The subject of this piece is 'Lady of the Court', and the centre of the panel features a woman holding a flower with a lion and a leopard on either side and a rabbit and snail in front. Flowers, birds, bees, butterflies and other insects fill the space and are of a different scale to the central figures. Unlike earlier tapestries, animals in 17th century domestic embroideries were seen as benign. Thus lions and leopards were shown lying down. This was in part due to the fact that samplers and small panels of raised work were often used as training for young girls and such designs were considered suitable for this practice.

In the mid 1600s embroidery began to move from the purely functional - a means of decorating bed hangings or making carpets - to the pictorial. Framed scenes like this were worked by young women of the middle and upper classes drawing on a common group of motifs: a married couple holding hands, or holding a flower (suggestive of fertility), a spacious house or castle, flowers, birds and insects. Some symbols were intentionally royalist such as the lion, stag and leopard. Caterpillars were said to have symbolised Charles I while the butterfly represented the Restoration. From 1649 to 1660 England was ruled by a Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell. No regard is given to scale, suggesting that designs may have been copied directly from engravings.

REF:
Pamela Clabburn, 'The needleworkers dictionary', Pittman Press, Great Britain, 1976
Rozsika Parker, 'The subversive stitch: Embroidery and the making of the feminine', The Women's Press, London, 1984

Needlework panel in Charles II style, silk, maker unknown, England, 1660-1685.

A framed needlework panel featuring stumpwork on a cream silk background. The scene in the centre of the panel features a woman holding a flower. A lion and a leopard are on either side of the woman and a rabbit and snail can be seen in front of the woman. Surrounding this central scene are stumpwork flowers, birds, bees, butterflies and other insects. The panel features petit-point on tent stitch providing the textile with a tapestry effect. Long stitch has been used on the face of the woman and stem stitch has been used to create the legs and feelers of the animals. Sequins have been sewn around the edge of each of the figures depicted. The needlework panel is held in a carved wooden frame with a glass panel over the surface of the textile.

Needlework featuring raised embroidery was a popular past time amongst young women of the 17th century. This particular style of needlework was originally known as 'raised' or 'embossed' work, and was later known as 'embroidery on the stamp'. During the 19th century it became known as 'stump work', though it is unclear as to why this name was applied.

Young girls started with samplers, which served practice pieces on which they could develop their skills and demonstrate their progress. From samplers they progressed to panels of raised work. Flowers and foliage were popular themes in 17th century needlework, and indeed have remained an unrivalled source of inspiration in both western and eastern embroidery traditions. Works also featured themes relating to the bible, representations of the current monarch, along with designs based on classical literature. As seen in this object, designs would be worked in long and short stitch. Here, the woman's face has been made using long stitch, whilst stem stitch has been used to create the legs and feelers of the animals. The panel also features petit-point on tent stitch, providing the textile with a tapestry effect. Characteristic of this type of embroidery, birds, animals and insects have been used to fill in any spaces, often with little thematic or spatial relationship to the rest of the design.

Purchased 1964

H7454

1660

477 mm

627 mm

53 mm