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Olive
Unknown - Enlarge image
Olive
- Object:
Slip
- Place of origin:
England, Great Britain (made)
- Date:
ca. 1600 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Embroidered canvas with silks
- Museum number:
T.49-1972
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 58c, case 5
Object Type
This slip, one of a small group, depicts a finch in an olive tree.
Materials and Making
Slips were small, usually floral motifs drawn onto canvas, then embroidered and cut out. They would be applied to a rich backing fabric such as velvet or satin. They were used in various types of furnishing, particularly bed hangings. It was more manageable for the domestic embroiderer to work a small piece of canvas that could be held in the hand than to tackle a large embroidery in a single piece. It was also easier, if necessary, to detach the slips and reapply them to another backing.
People
Two manuscript notes in the V&A relate to the commissioning of these slips. They were apparently written by Anne Sydney, daughter of Sir William Sydney of Penshurst, Kent, who married Sir William Fitzwilliam (1526-1599). They seem to indicate that the slips were worked to commission, but almost certainly by household servants, Mrs Fisher and Mrs Lyell, rather than in a workshop.
