Gallery Title
Gallery Title
baby basket
Accession Number NWHCM : 1944.72
Description
Baby basket in beadwork, the beads threaded on wire, rectangular with sloping sides and handles on the two shorter sides, on the base is the figure of a King, seated under a canopy and surrounded by courtiers, in a formal landscape, on the sides are conventional flowers, some with raised petals, fruit, animals, houses etc; the figures have faces and hands embroidered in silk in long and short stitches, the date 1661 and the initials EW appear on the base
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The use of baskets such as this finely worked one from 1661 is not known for certain, but their association with betrothals and weddings mean they could once have held wedding favours or baby linens. Although sometimes attributed to the final test in a girl’s needlework training, the similarities in styles between some examples may point to a professional workshop. The colourful glass beads would have been threaded onto the wire. They depict the figure of a king seated under a canopy surrounded by courtiers. The surrounding images of raised petals and floral slips are common inclusions but the variety of animals around the base raise the status of this basket as an object of exception.
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