Panel
Object name
Date made
Circa 1650-1675
Place made
Description
Circa 1650-1675 casket panel depicting Abraham entertaining the angels.
Content description
A circa 1650-1675 casket panel depicting Abraham entertaining the angels. The scene shows Abraham on a bent knee with a standing, haloed angel reaching toward him. This lead angel is accompanied by two other angels who are sat at a table. All three angels have large wings. From a doorway on the viewer's left side Sarah peeks out to observe the scene. In the background are a tent and tree and in the foreground is a flower. The embroidery involves silk and gimp thread on a silk satin ground. Stitches include long and short, satin, couching, French knots, and a variation on brick. The entire surface has been conservation netted.
The embroidered scene is borrowed from engravings made by Adriaen Collaert after Maarten de Vos which first appeared in Gerard de Jode's illustrated bible Thesaurus Sacrarum Historiarum Veteris Testamenti, which was published in Antwerp in 1579. These engravings were the inspiration for many biblical embroideries in this period. Contemporary embroideries also borrowing from de Vos' engravings are found in such collections as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (64.101.1306), Ashmolean Museum (WA1947.191.314), and numerous private collections.
Embroidered casket panels of this sort were often made by teenaged girls as part of their education in mid to late seventeenth-century England. Casket panels were also made by professional embroiderers. Caskets and cabinets were tabletop boxes which contained secret compartments and held writing supplies, sewing supplies, perfumes, toys, and precious objects.
The embroidered scene is borrowed from engravings made by Adriaen Collaert after Maarten de Vos which first appeared in Gerard de Jode's illustrated bible Thesaurus Sacrarum Historiarum Veteris Testamenti, which was published in Antwerp in 1579. These engravings were the inspiration for many biblical embroideries in this period. Contemporary embroideries also borrowing from de Vos' engravings are found in such collections as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (64.101.1306), Ashmolean Museum (WA1947.191.314), and numerous private collections.
Embroidered casket panels of this sort were often made by teenaged girls as part of their education in mid to late seventeenth-century England. Casket panels were also made by professional embroiderers. Caskets and cabinets were tabletop boxes which contained secret compartments and held writing supplies, sewing supplies, perfumes, toys, and precious objects.
Dimensions
width: 28cm
height: 16cm
height: 16cm
Materials
Stitches
Motifs
Catalogue number
RSN.766
© Royal School of Needlework