Imagine a dress of cloth of silver, embroidered with flowers - jonquils, pansies, gillyflowers, a Tudor rose - and fruits - medlars, quince, strawberries - and there's creepycrawlies and a peacock, and a sea monster attacking a boat and a bear hunt ... imagine how it would shimmer in the light of a thousand candles at court, where so many functionaries wore black ...
(Click on the image to see in detail.)
And imagine the excitement of discovering that an altarcloth in a country church is probably - more than likely - a panel from the gown that Elizabeth I wore in the famous Rainbow portrait. (She was nearly 70 when it was painted but she wasn't one for warts and all realism.)
To put it in context, the amount of silver in the gown would have paid for a substantial Tudor mansion. (Lord Dudley's silver court suit cost slightly more than Shakespeare paid for New Place.)
There's still a faint winestain - presumably Communion wine - but I couldn't make that out.
Then I had a stroll around my favourite corners of the Palace ... first stop the kitchens, then the Chapel Royal - and the gardens, where the dahlias are simply stunning.
5 comments:
Thank you for that little bit of a history lesson. Loved it.
Why did they add to the fabric after she died? Was it social commentary?
Hello, Mystica - good to see you here again.
Not social commentary, Lucille - at least, there was no mention of that. The style of the later embroidery has been dated to around the time of Elizabeth's death, ie shortly before/after. Given the enormous cost of such gowns, they were often restyled so they could be worn again. It's unlikely that she wore this gown more than once - but it seems possible/likely that court ladies could have been sorting through her wardrobe with a view to redistributing items after her death. And they'd have had time on their hands during the Queen's last months when she was neglected, and in the three weeks between her death/funeral when the court was focused on fetching James from the north. Anyway, bit of guesswork here - but there are clearly two styles of embroidery. The gown - in whole/in part - ended up in a country church that had a strong connection with a lady of the bedchamber (who predeceased Elizabeth and would never have seen the gown in her lifetime - so it must have been a gift to the church in her memory.)
Fascinating to see it, anyway - especially as nothing survives from Elizabeth's vast wardrobe but accessories like boots and gloves.
How interesting. I must go to Hampton Court. I may have visited as a child but it was a bit of a schlep and still is so I have no real memory of it.
This sort of detective work is fascinating. I embarked (unofficially) on a search for a missing panel at William Morris’s Red House once and found it in Canada!
And I've never been to the Red House which is a bit of a schlep from here!
But if you haven't been to Hampton Court in all those years, Lucille, it's well worth a visit. Bit more expensive to get in, you'll find!
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