Embroidered Picture thumbnail 1
Not on display

Embroidered Picture

1600-1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Embroidered picture depicting St Mary Magdalene reading while reclining in the Garden of Golgotha, the burial place of Jesus. The background has typical motifs from English domestic embroidery of this period, including a castle and plants and animals. A cross and skull, symbols of Christ's Resurrection, appear within the scene and the border depicts the instruments of Christ's passion, including: thirty pieces of silver; dice; a torch, sword, and ear; a mailed glove; a jug for vinegar and gall; a lance, reed and sponge; an auger; the written 'accusation'; crown of thorns; hammer and pincers; scourge; cock; pillar and ladder; lantern.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
embroidered in silks on linen canvas
Brief description
Embroidered picture, St Mary Magdalene, English, 17th century
Physical description
Embroidered picture depicting St Mary Magdalene reading while reclining in the Garden of Golgotha, the burial place of Jesus. The background has typical motifs from English domestic embroidery of this period, including a castle and plants and animals. A cross and skull, symbols of Christ's Resurrection, appear within the scene and the border depicts the instruments of Christ's passion, including: thirty pieces of silver; dice; a torch, sword, and ear; a mailed glove; a jug for vinegar and gall; a lance, reed and sponge; an auger; the written 'accusation'; crown of thorns; hammer and pincers; scourge; cock; pillar and ladder; lantern.
Dimensions
  • Height: 40cm
  • Width: 46cm
Credit line
Bequeathed by Mrs Alec-Tweedie (per Miss J. Goodbody)
Object history


Subject depicted
Place depicted
Bibliographic reference
Roisin Inglesby, An Unusual Embroidery of Mary Magdalene, in: V&A Online Journal, Issue No. 7 Summer 2015, ISSN 2043-667X http://web.archive.org/web/20230112103726/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/%20research-journal/issue-no.-7-autumn-2015/%20an-unusual-embroidery-of-mary-magdalene/
Other number
T.57-2012 - Cancelled number
Collection
Accession number
T.18-1940

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Record createdMarch 29, 2012
Record URL
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