SELWYN IMAGE (1849-1930) FOR THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF NEEDLEWORK
EMBROIDERED TRIPTYCH DEPICTING VENUS, JUNO AND MINERVA, CIRCA 1879
£2,400
Auction: 10 October 2018 at 11:00 BST
Description
with moulded mahogany frame, each panel worked in crewel-stitch in gold, green and brown threads on a cream silk satin ground and bearing inscriptions VENUS/ JUNO/ MINERVA
156cm x 134cm including frame
Footnote
Provenance: Paul Reeves, London
Exhibited: London, Royal School of Needlework Exhibition, 1879
Literature: Morris, Barbara J., 'Victorian Embroidery: An Authoritative Guide', Dover 2003, pp. 136-137, pl. 56 illus.
Note: 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.