Laura Ashley prints, pastoral themes in Romantic literature and art movements like Pre-Raphealitism, Art Nouveau, Baroque and Arts and Crafts have left modern viewers of art and textiles with cultural ideas about the meaning of floral embroidery and floral imagery which would not have featured in the conciousness of a Jacobean audience. Our impressions of the beautiful scrolling floral embroidery at the turn of the … Continue reading Jacobean ‘Cottagecore’: Cultural Meanings of Floral Imagery in the Seventeenth Century

The seventeenth century produced some of the most beautiful and intriguing needlwork pictures, caskets mirror frames and similar objects ever made. Many feature raised stumpwork and representations of people – biblical characters, popular characters from moral stories, and even royalty. These little figures give us an insight not just into the skill of the people who made these amazing objects, but also into the fashions … Continue reading Needlework Pictures

The Jacobean era was marked by a major trend among the elite, brought to life by the new Queen, Anna of Denmark, and her taste for court masques. The aesthetics of the design for masques, especially in the costumes of the performers, were heavily driven by symbolism and the use of emblematic imagery to give every decoration a meaning. Continue reading Fashion and Symbolism