Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire houses a world-famous collection of 16th and 17th century textile furnishings. The collection ranges from carpets and tapestries to bed sets and cushion covers, many of them decorated with superb embroidery. In this lavishly illustrated and authoritative introduction to the collection, Santina M. Levey places the textiles in their day-to-day context. During the 16th and 17th centuries textiles were of prime importance. They were the major means of providing color, pattern, warmth, and comfort within a house, and their high cost made them the vehicle for an often ostentatious display of wealth.
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Santina Levey, FSA, worked at the V&A Museum for 20 years, the last nine of them as Keeper of the Department of Textiles. She was responsible for the collections of lace, embroidery and vestments, and also worked more generally with objects from the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Seller: Griffin Books, Stamford, CT, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: New. Brand new gift quality hardcover in jacket oversized and overweight. Please email for photos. Larger books or sets may require additional shipping charges. Books sent via US Postal. Seller Inventory # 118684
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century textile furnishings. That so much should have survived in such good condition is little short of miraculous, and is due in part to the formidable Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as Bess of Hardwick, who built the house in the 1590s, and in her will instructed her heirs to '[sic] have speciall care and regard to p'serve the same from all manner of wett, mothe and other hurte or spoyle thereof'. In this lavishly illustrated and authoritative introduction to the collection, Santina Levey places the textiles in their day-to-day context. Using account books and other archival material, she describes the origins of the different types of furnishing, whether bought ready-made or put together and decorated by embroiderers. Inventories, letters, and personal reminiscences are used to chart the later history of the house and the inevitable alterations that four hundred years of use wrought on the original furnishings. With its glossary and bibliography, the book is an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in learning how Bess's 'Bedding hangings and other furniture of household stuffe [sic]' were created and how some survived the centuries. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR007568679
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