In the Summer, I went on a Trip. Part Two.

Another interesting item in the Museum - one among many - was an embroidered (stumpwork) casket from the 17th century. Unfortunately, my camera has irreversibly blurred the picture I took of the label, so I can only observe in retrospect.

The casket features, as almost all caskets of the period do, natural motifs of symbolic flowers, leaves, and some insects, as well as the occasional larger animal (a lion and a leopard can be seen at the top of the above photo). This photo is of the back of the box, and shows quite a menagerie. at the top, an eagle, lower, a stag, one or two caterpillars, and several snails. There is also a smaller bird, in the middle row, though it's feet and legs have evidently been stitched with iron-black thread, and have disintegrated.

There are some man-made motifs too. Here you can see a man in a tent, with long curls and what looks to be an oxidised silver crown. Perhaps one or other King Charles? In the background is a house with a Dutch gable.

The inside of the casket is also beautifully shaded in silks. Here is a detail of the inside of the door shown above.

The lower half of the box front. Here you can see the attention given the internal drawer fronts, as well as the accompanying door to the man in the tent - another lovely row of buildings stands behind the woman and girl. It's really worth taking a good look at the fabric that makes up the woman's dress. It's so vibrant, and mirrors the featured flower decoration in miniature.

Just in case you were wondering, I also took a picture of the object in front of them - I seem to remember reading the notice for this one, and it telling me it was a mid-Victorian sampler made to look like a mosaic, but I can't now confirm this.

Finally, a picture of the lid of the box - I'm afraid it does look a little washed out, but the light above me was quite bright, and I couldn't shield it. But you do get a good look at the main feature, a crest.

You'll notice that the woman on the left has very deep shading in the folds of her skirt. Here's a detail of how that stumpwork fabric was put together. It looks like buttonhole / Brussels stitch.

Like the last case of lace, I think this piece probably had a slightly... Well, if not sinister, probably not a happy history. I wonder what age the person who made this was? Probably less than 14, if the museum guides are anything to go by. Just imagine how many stitches made up the whole box. I love the idea of the box, though, with all it's drawers to keep equipment and samplers in. I'm sure people must still make these, they seem to be such a large part of 17th century needlework. I think I'll try and find some work-hour estimates, and revisit this idea.