Museum number
F231
Object
Embroidery: Esther's approach to Ahasuerus, English, silk on canvas, about 1900
Description
Esther’s approach of Ahasuerus. You can see that the King’s sceptre is extended toward the woman, as described in Esther 5. You’ll also note that the top right of the canvas shows a man (Mordecai) being honoured by riding on the King’s horse and dressed in the King’s clothing, led through the city (see Esther 6). This image/representation of the Mordecai tribute is characteristic of embroideries depicting Esther’s narrative. - Michele Osherow (Associate Professor of English - University of Maryland)
Materials
Silk
On display?
Yes

Further description

Simple name
Embroidery
Dimensions
framed: 40.0100cm (h) x 34.2900cm (w)
David and Bathsheba English Silk on canvas, late nineteenth or early twentieth century F231 Gift of Rev. Hugh Nelson-Ward, 1953 Although believed to be seventeenth-century when first acquired, this embroidery is actually a later copy. The composition is based on an authentic seventeenth-century pattern, but the chemical dyes used to colour the silks were not developed until the nineteenth century. The treatment of the faces is also crude and rudimentary when compared to genuine seventeenth-century examples.

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