"For if delight may provoke men's labour,
set with orient pearles and garnished with great diversitie of rare and costly jewels."
what grater delights is than to behold the earth apparalled with plants
as with a robe of imbrodered works,
set with orient pearles and garnished with great diversitie of rare and costly jewels."
-John Gerard's dedication to Lord Burghley from his book
a beloved book , THE ART OF DRESS Clothes and Society 1500-1914, is the best single source for all things in Fashion. Written by Jane Ashelford and published the National Trust, it is an amazing compendium of scholarly knowledge, but written with the most divine details - little bits about the garments worn and the people that wore them. I've corresponded with Jane and found that the book will be reissued in August. Get yourself a copy, You won't regret it.
I am fascinated by the grand Elizabeth R- and no less fascinating is this glorious dress worn in the portrait by and unknown artist for Hardwick Hall. What fascinates me is the beautiful depictions on the skirt. The Elizabethans used motifs of nature in abundance and the white satin skirt is the piece de resistance of this love of nature.
Elizabeth R
The Hardwick Portrait by Nicholas Hilliard
The Hardwick Portrait by Nicholas Hilliard
According to Jane- at one time the skirt was thought to have been painted- now consensus is that the needle was the brush that created this masterpiece. Apparently this garden is embroidered and its intricate stitchery overseen by Bess of Hardwick. Bess is likely to have put her own embroidery skills to work on the fantastical skirt. The costume was a gift for the Queen on New Year's Day. Interestingly- both male and female servants at Hardwick were schooled in the art of embroidery-so it is easy to imagine them with heads bent, working the magnificent white satin into a virtual natural world for the Queen.
Bess of Hardwick
*Satin Gauntlet embroidered with silk and metallic thread, purland spangles, trimmed with silk ribbon and silver-gilt bobbin lace…English c. 1600-1625Fashion in DetailSeventeenth and Eighteenth CenturyAvril Hart and Susan North*The botanicals and beasts on the garment would have been studied and rendered from the book : The Herball or General Historie of Plants by John Gerard and published in 1597.
(pages from the work below)
the skirt in detail
There are many and most All recognizable animals and floral specimens. The Pansy- one of the flowers depicted- was a favorite with Elizabeth and appeared on many of her clothes. Other specimens: Eglantine Rose, the Iris, Cowslip, Columbine, Strawberry & Pomegranates .
an example of the embroidery of the period.
From the Animal Kingdom: the swallow, crocodile , the spider, moth, crane, the whale, shark, the serpent and a fierce dragon.
What is in your Elizabethan garden?
