CIRCA 1670-80

Details

A CHARLES II NEEDLEWORK TABLE MIRROR
CIRCA 1670-80
The ivory silk ground worked with a King and Queen in fine robes embellished with seed pearls and lace, with a lady playing the lute above, the top corners worked with castles with mica windows, the lower corners with purl-work lions, spangled throughout, the table strut to the reverse lacking
24 x 19.5in. (59 x 48cm.)
worked with the initials MP in seed pearls

Provenance

An Important Collection of Needlework, The Richmond Collection, Christie's, South Kensington, 23 June 1987, lot 159.

Literature

Illustrated London News, 19 March 1932.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

The monogramme 'MP' may stand for Margaret Penn, sister of William Penn (d.1718), the founder of Pennsylvania. The Richmond Collection included a purse belonging to William Penn (See Christie's, South Kensington, 23 June 1987, lot 72). Although no records exist to confirm that the mirror and purse shared the same provenance, it is quite possible that they did.

The Lady playing the lute usually represents Harmony, suggesting that this embroidery was intended as a celebration of marriage. Margaret married Sir Thomas Lowther in 1666-7. Her brother married in 1672.

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