Coverlet

Working with a broad palette of silken threads, the English embroiderer has gone to great lengths to portray blooms and foliage as naturalistically as possible: peonies, tulips, irises and poppies are immediately recognizable, alongside luscious black grapes and over-ripe pomegranates, their seeds set to burst across the surface of the textile. A very gentle, subtle symmetry is maintained- the corner arrangements, for example, reflect only on the diagonal axis. In technique and design, the embroiderer is responding to, and emulating, precious textiles being produced around this time in mainland Europe, particularly Italy- but, needs must, replacing copious use of golden metal thread with simple yellow silks, witnessed here in the scalloped repeat covering the textile’s ground.