Tester
Category
Textiles
Date
1680
Materials
Silk
Measurements
2060 mm (Length)1710 mm (W)1480 mm (Length)1140 mm (W)50 mm (?)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Dunham Massey, Cheshire
NT 932682.16
Summary
State bed. Tester. Inside dome - Fabric, yellow silk taffeta 21 weft/shot - 1/8 in; Lining, yellow silk satin weave (as on posts), hessian base embroidered (see below); Trimming, single and double lines of tasseled braid 20 mm as before; Structure, the embroidered satin on the hessian base has been reused as the base for this later refurbishment; interlines with yellow satin then covered with the taffeta; the trimming following the structure; the whole tacked to the tester frame. Outer dome - Fabric pale gold silk satin warp faced (although under a thick layer of dirt and very fragmented the colour appears to be different to that on the posts and interlining on the outer surface), veridian green double stripe selvage, the whole embroidered; Embroidery, red a silk gimp cord, green, black, blue and gold silk, laid and couched work; Design, 'Jacobean' tree of life at centre with floral motifs in four corners and at either side and end, within scrolled border, with three floral motifs at outer edge at either side and both ends (very characteristic of C.17th embroidery). The pattern appears very similar to the head cloth on a state bed at Knole (c.1680); Structure, the embroidery is worked through the hessian base but has been reversed and used as a base of the silk above.