Marvellous Makers, Wondrous Worlds – Raised Embroidery from the 17th century

The exhibition highlights the Holburne’s important collection of raised embroidery and with a display of complementary loans, allows visitors a close-up look at a host of beautifully crafted objects.

Described as ‘curious work’ by contemporaries in the seventeenth century, these decorative embroidered pictures were mostly made by young, highly skilled non-professional needlewomen in wealthy households, and were designed to display their mastery of the craft. Themes of gender bias; the divide between domestic crafts and the more prestigious and public-facing textile art; and the connections between the materials employed and the trade relationships of the period are all addressed in this fantastic show.