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The Tree of Life

first half 17th century
Not on view
Figurative needlework in Tudor and Stuart homes often adorned cushion covers or table and cupboard carpets. A talented female amateur likely sewed this piece, using a professionally prepared kit with the design outlined in advance on canvas. Fruit-bearing trees sheltering wildlife were especially popular patterns. The scenes acted as reminders of Biblical abundance: both the Creation and the promise of the celestial Tree of Life.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Tree of Life
  • Date: first half 17th century
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: Canvas worked with silk thread; tent, Gobelin, and couching stitches
  • Dimensions: H. 22 1/2 x W. 24 1/8 inches (57.2 x 61.3 cm);
    Framed dim.: H. 25 1/2 x W. 27 1/4 x D. 2 1/4 inches (64.8 x 69.2. x 5.7 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
  • Credit Line: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
  • Object Number: 64.101.1305
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Seasons and Elements (Summer) (set of four), Charles Le Brun French, Canvas; silk, wool, and metal-thread embroidery in tent stitch (316 stitches per sq. inch, 49 per sq. cm.), French, Paris
Seasons and Elements (Summer) (set of four)
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1683
Seasons and Elements (Fire) (set of four), Charles Le Brun French, Canvas; silk, wool, and metal-thread embroidery in tent stitch (316 stitches per sq. inch, 49 per sq. cm.), French, Paris
Seasons and Elements (Fire) (set of four)
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1683
Seasons and Elements (Spring) (set of four), Charles Le Brun French, Canvas; silk, wool, and metal-thread embroidery in tent stitch (316 stitches per sq. inch, 49 per sq. cm.), French, Paris
Seasons and Elements (Spring) (set of four)
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1683
Settee (one of a pair), John Mayhew British, Gilded fruitwood; wool and silk (22-24 warps per inch, 9-10 per centimeter), British and French
Settee (one of a pair)
Multiple artists/makers
1769–71
Armchair (one of a set of six), John Mayhew British, Gilded fruitwood; wool and silk (22-24 warps per inch, 9-10 per centimeter), British and French
Armchair (one of a set of six)
Multiple artists/makers
1769–71

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