Labors of the Months
A Year in Miniature
Figurative scenes rendered in needlework were popular in English Renaissance homes; these textiles often functioned as cushion covers or table and cupboard carpets. A talented female amateur likely sewed this piece using a professionally prepared kit with the design outlined in advance on canvas. Here, a circuitous path leads through each month’s activities. Some of the figures are at rest, but most are at work, reflecting the realities of seventeenth-century British rural life.
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