Curtain Fragment

This fragmentary embroidery was likely the bottom edge of a bed curtain or a hanging. Two other complete curtains survive in British collections, and these three pieces must have been part of one set. The lively hunting scene is derived from the same pattern source as the Indian embroidered curtain adjacent and the corresponding chintz versions. However, this British-made version, with its densely packed three-dimensional knot stitches, is technically much closer to other examples of English needlework from the second half of the seventeenth century. Nevertheless, the turbaned hunters and the Chinese-style rockery are not typically found in traditional English pastoral embroideries.