16th Century: Beaded Portrait

AN EXTREMELY FINE AND RARE ENGLISH PORTRAIT IN NEEDLEWORK DEPICTING QUEEN ELIZABETH I, CIRCA 1580
MEASUREMENTS: 6 3/4 by 6 1/2 in.; the panel 4 3/4 by 4 1/2 in.

Delicately worked in polychrome silks, silver and gold metal threads ornamented with seed pearls and glass beads, the face painted on vellum. Gloriana shown standing on a terrace wearing a feather plumed hat worked with seed pearls, with a ruff above a couched bodice with similar ballooned sleeves, the dress diapered with silver thread and sequins and flossed polychrome silk bands, and with a yellow lined short cape, with cut painted paper hands, one holding a plumed fan, the other gloves(?).

The sky worked in silver thread and centered by a shining star above a vista of rolling hills and woods with a town in the upper right, to the left a knotted garden centered by an elaborate fountain surmounted by Eros holding a bow, to the right a small landscape with buildings and enclosed fields with a scene of dogs chasing a stag, partly enclosed by a bower of red roses, white lilies and yellow dog roses, with a pair of birds and a robin.

The foreground with balustrades before a paved terrace, one end with square pot with a climbing white flowers, perhaps eglinton, the foreground with a further balustrade ornamented with roundels enclosing fleurs de lys; the panel within a gold metal thread square tape with silver thread square jewels and with fleur de lys corners, and with an outer blue tape threaded with a gold thread and a red silk snake ornamented with seed pearls, joined at the top, and interspersed with woven green silk leaves. – Sotheby’s

This was sold at Sotheby’s in April of 2004 for $153,600.