Museum number
F228
Object
Embroidery: Meeting between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, English, silk and metal embroidery on satin, about 1640
Description
The Old Testament subject is taken from I Kings Chapter 10 vs 1-10. The Queen of Sheba had heard of Solomon's great wisdom and resolved to test it herself. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large retinue and bearing gifts of spices, gold and precious stones. The Queen was very impressed by Solomon's knowledge and presented him with many gifts. Usually in 17th Century needlework she presents him with a vase or flower, in this case it is a container of some kind. The King is shown standing under a magnificent decorated canopy, surrounded by typical beasts, flowers and buildings, including a charming pond with a fish in it. This embroidery of white satin ground shows examples of split stitch and long and short stitch with various forms of metal wire and thread for decoration. The King's canopy, for instance, is worked with much metal thread and his robes are highly decorated with loops and rouleau of plate and wire as are his crown, staff and chain. The under-drawing and some pigmentation is clearly visible in the background palace and also some pigmentation on the faces of the sitters. The needleworker has gone out of her way to indicate that this is Solomon and Sheba by stitching the offerings the woman presents—she holds a container in her hand extended toward the king and a pitcher appears between the primary male and female figures on the canvas. These items refer to the biblical description of the gifts of spices, jewels and oils Sheba offers to Solomon (1 Kings 10).  What’s more, this queen holds a sceptre which Esther would not have (as it would undermine the drama of Esther chapter 5). - Michele Osherow (Associate Professor of English at University of Maryland)
Materials
Silk
On display?
Yes

Further description

Simple name
Embroidery
Dimensions
framed: 34.8000cm (h) x 47.0000cm (w)
Esther and Ahasuerus English Silk and metal embroidery on satin, about 1640 F228 Gift of Miss Mildred Alice Carr, 1961 Worked by a highly skilled needleworker, this embroidery includes examples of split stitch and long and short stitch with various forms of metal wire and thread for decoration. The Old Testament subject was popular and is found on several other embroidered panels of the same period. Ahasuerus, King of Persia is shown receiving his Jewish wife Esther, who had come to beg him to save her people. Esther risked execution for visiting the king without being summoned but he is shown raising his staff to show that he would see her. The Holburne Museum has a remarkable collection of embroidered pictures. Most were made by young, highly skilled amateur needlewomen in wealthy households although a few may be the work of professional embroiderers, who were usually men. Many of the embroideries incorporate raised work (or stumpwork), the technique of embroidering over padding in high relief. Their enduring appeal comes from the combination of exceptional craftsmanship with the naive charm of designs which often include outsized animals, birds and insects.

Please help us improve our records. Let us know if there are any errors by writing to curators@holburne.org