Lot 314
SELWYN IMAGE (1849-1930) FOR THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF NEEDLEWORK
'VENUS', 'JUNO' AND 'MINERVA', AN EMBROIDERED TRIPTYCH, CIRCA 1879
Auction: Day One inc Contents from a London Apartment | Lots 197 to 333 | Wednesday 15th October
Description
crewel-stitch in gold, green and brown threads on a cream silk satin ground, moulded mahogany frame, bearing embroidered inscriptions VENUS/ JUNO/ MINERVA
Dimensions
156cm x 134cm including frame
Provenance
Paul Reeves, London
Private Collection
Footnote
Exhibited: London, Royal School of Needlework Exhibition, 1879
Literature: Morris B. Victorian Embroidery: An Authoritative Guide, Dover 2003, pp. 136-137, pl. 56 illus.
Originally designed as a set of four to include Proserpine, these panels were designed by Selwyn Image, circa 1879, for the Royal School of Needlework. The School was founded in 1872 with the aims of 'restoring Ornamental Needlework for secular purposes, to the high place it once held amongst decorative arts, and to supply suitable employment for poor gentlewomen'. The school commissioned designs from the leading architects and designers of the day.