Object Details
Description
Small panel of embroidery in high relief of a tree in an oval with an elaborate framework. The field is filled by an oak tree with dimensional leaves in shades of green. The trunk and branches are very dimensional, and are worked in silver metallic thread, now tarnished. At the base of the tree is a salamander, also in silver metallic thread. The background shows a landscape worked in pale silks with mountains and buildings, possibly a monastery. From the limbs of the tree hang crutches, a wax leg, and a censer.
The oval is surrounded by a row of coral beads and two rows of couched metal thread. The framework is embroidered with plant forms; in the two upper corners are coiled serpents, and in the two lower corners serpents emerge from cornucopias. The framework is accented accented throughout with coral beads and edged with a scalloped lace, probably added later.
Credit Line
Gift of Marian Hague
Date
late 16th–early 17th century
Accession Number
1959-144-1
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
embroidery & stitching
Panel for a cabinet door
Medium
Medium: silk, metal wire, metal strips, coral beads, cotton, linen Technique: raised embroidery Label: silk embroidered with silk, metal threads and coral beads
Dimensions
H x W: 33 x 28 cm (13 x 11 in.)
made in
France or Flanders
See more items in
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
Textiles Department
Data Source
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
chndm_1959-144-1