Beschreibung:

A rare beadwork basket, English, 1664, large square tray, with trefoil handle to each side, wrapped around with small coloured glass beads on wire (ribbon beneath sometime renewed, and beads washed and re-wired), embellished with later narrow blue ribbon bows, base lined with beaded panel depicting King Ahasuerus receiving Esther, the latter with attendant holding her train, Mordecai beside them, Haman hanging from a gibbet, the citadel of Shushan (Susa), and numerous other symbolic images of flora and fauna, with the initials 'E.W.' and the date 1664, beadwork sometime lifted from original backing and carefully relaid onto a new ground of linen-backed cream silk using adhesive and thread, generally a little dusty and some small losses, linen faces of the three main figures lacking their stitched features, size of panel 36.5 x 36cm (14.25 x 14ins), overall size 53 x 52cm (21 x 20.5ins) Provenance: Purchased over twenty years ago by the current owner from an auction of items which came from a major country house in the northwest of England, where it had almost certainly resided since its creation. Baskets such as these are very rare, there being only a relatively small number in existence. It is probable that the conservation work carried out on this piece was executed sometime in the first quarter of the 20th century. The purpose of such trays is not known; it has been suggested that they were made as layette baskets when preparing for the birth of a baby, or for placing gloves or rosemary in at a wedding. However, they may have been intended not as receptacles, but as simply commemorative pieces for a birth or betrothal, or just as decorative table centrepieces. As with silk embroidery, beadwork was a popular pastime for ladies in wealthy households in the seventeenth century, and young girls were instructed in the art of beadwork in the same way that they were taught other forms of embroidery. Similarities between the form of the basket frame in known examples suggest that they could be purchased ready-made for beadwork to be applied. The seventeenth century was a golden age in British embroidery, and large quantities of glass beads were imported from Venice and Amsterdam by English merchants between the 1630s and 1680s. All the examples of beadwork baskets which we have traced appear to date from the 1660s and 1670s. One of the most popular subjects for all types of embroidered objects was the Biblical story of Esther and King Ahasuerus, taken from the seventh chapter of Esther. The imagery of the tale, as well as that of the also oft-used story of King Solomon, served as a timely reminder, at the time of the Restoration of Charles II, of the sovereignty and greatness of the King, his graciousness in receiving supplicating subjects, and the dangerous consequences of not honouring the monarchy. It may be that the display of such a large piece of embroidery in a prominent place in a gentleman's dwelling helped prove the household's allegiance and devotion to the King. (1)