Bradford_table_carpet_VA_T134-1928_unstraightened

The Bradford Carpet is a canvas work

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

made in the early 17th century (ca. 1600–1615) that originally belonged to the

Earl of Bradford Earl of Bradford, of Bradford in the County of Salop, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in 1694 for Francis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport. How ...

Castle Bromwich Castle Bromwich () is a large suburban village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. It borders the rest of the borough to the south east, Sutton Coldfield to the east and north east, Shard E ...

.Digby 1964, p. 102, plates 46 and 47 The carpet measures . In the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

it covers an entire wall. However, it was made neither for wall nor floor, but as a table covering. Its border was designed to hang down over the edges of a table, and it would have been removed or covered with a linen cloth when the table was used.V&A Museum, Life in Tudor and Stuart times The carpet is worked with

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

embroidery thread Embroidery thread is yarn that is manufactured or hand- spun specifically for embroidery and other forms of needlework. Embroidery thread often differs widely, coming in many different fiber types, colors and weights. Type of embroidery thread Thre ...

tent stitch Tent stitch is a small, diagonal needlepoint stitch that crosses over the intersection of one horizontal (weft) and one vertical (warp) thread of needlepoint canvas forming a slanted stitch at a 45-degree angle. It is also known as needlepoint sti ...

on a

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

ground. The stitching is very fine (400 stitches/inch, 62 stitches/cm) and was worked in at least 23 different colours. The tension of the tent stitches over time has distorted the shape of the carpet. It is characteristic of professional canvas work popular for furnishings in the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

. The field design is a grape vine trellis. The border, thought to represent human progression from a wild state to civilisation,Levey & King 1993, p. 16 depicts a variety of country pursuits set against a

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

, described as "perhaps the finest range of

genre scenes Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

to come down to us from Elizabethan times". A

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

, travelling vendor with his packhorse, lords and ladies,

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

scenes,

milkmaid A milkmaid, milk maid, milkwoman, dairymaid, or dairywoman is a girl or woman who works with milk or cows. She milks cows and also uses the milk to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter, and cheese. Many large houses employ milkmaids ins ...

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s and

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s are all shown.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford Carpet British rugs and carpets Embroidery in the United Kingdom Individual rugs and carpets