17th century

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Image features embroidered picture showing five women representing "The Five Senses" with their attributes. Hearing, playing a lute, is in the center, Smell is upper right, Touch is lower right, Taste is upper left, and Sight is lower left. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Raising the Bar for Intricate Needlework
Author: Katherine Diuguid The wealth of needlework techniques on display in 17th century English raised-work embroideries is a reminder that these pictures functioned as samplers, in which amateur embroiderers would test out different techniques as they progressed in their needlework skills. Whether depicting Biblical or mythological characters, female figures rendered in contemporary dress often enjoyed...
Image features a textile band with a lattice pattern having a cross in each diamond-shaped field. The lattice and crosses are white outlined with red, on a brown ground. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
A Blended Colonial Aesthetic
In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15, 2019), this week’s Object Of The Day posts celebrate Latinx design and designers’ works in the collection. This rather ordinary looking band is actually extraordinary. Made in Mexico during the Spanish colonial period (likely mid-15th- early 16th c.) it is composed with a Spanish aesthetic,...
Manipulation of Metallic Thread
Author: Anna Rose Keefe In celebration of the fourth annual New York Textile Month, members of the Textile Society of America will author Object of the Day for the month of September. A non-profit professional organization of scholars, educators, and artists in the field of textiles, TSA provides an international forum for the exchange and...
The Regal Look of Raised Work
Author: Katherine Diuguid In celebration of the fourth annual New York Textile Month, members of the Textile Society of America will author Object of the Day for the month of September. A non-profit professional organization of scholars, educators, and artists in the field of textiles, TSA provides an international forum for the exchange and dissemination...
Pen and brown ink drawing of a woman seated on an octagonal platform, painting at an easel. She is encircled by eight columns supporting a cupola above.
Elisabetta Sirani, “Gem of Italy”
On November 14, 1665, the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna was crowded with mourners. They were gathered to remember a young female artist, Elisabetta Sirani (1638 – 1665), who had died suddenly the previous August.[1] Although only 27 at the time of her death, Elisabetta was already an acclaimed painter, draftsman, and printmaker—a contemporary...
Secret of the Garden
Daniel Marot, architect, decorative designer and engraver fled, like many other Huguenot workers, from France to Holland due to the revocation of the Edict of the Nantes in 1685.  The Edict had offered measures to ensure religious liberty and its revocation sent shock waves through Protestant communities who were no longer protected.  Bringing his talent...