
Curtain
- Place of origin:
France (probably, made)
- Date:
ca. 1600 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Embroidery and appliqué in silks and wool on wool ground
- Credit Line:
Given by the Rev. Dr and Mrs John Pollock
- Museum number:
T.39-2010
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This curtain is one of a set of six. They belonged to a bed at Belhus Park, a mansion in South Essex, that was home to the Barrett and Lennard families for nearly six hundred years, until it was demolished in 1959. In the early 17th century, Belhus belonged to Sir Edward Barrett (1581-1644), who held the offices of Ambassador to France, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The curtains are probably of French manufacture, and may have been acquired by Sir Edward Barrett during his travel or residence in France.
The technique used to decorate the curtains, embroidery and appliqué of canvas work motifs onto a wool ground, is an extremely rare survival from this date in anything more that the most fragmentary form, because of its vulnerability to insect attack, and damage through disintegration of the small applied sections.