English Embroidered Bookbindings by Cyril James Humphries Davenport
page 64 of 119 (53%)
page 64 of 119 (53%)
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represented in crimson silk thread and all appliqué. There are two
supporters--that on the right, an animal breathing flame, and gorged with a coronet from which hangs a long chain, all worked in coloured silks on linen and appliqué, belongs to the Fitzhugh family, the coat of which is shown on the third quarter; that on the left, a wyvern argent, also gorged with a coronet, from which depends a long gold chain, is that of the Parr family. The wyvern is a piece of blue silk, finished in gold and silver cords, in appliqué. The gold cord enclosing the armorial design is amplified at each corner into an arabesque scroll. The book has been most unfortunately rebound, and the work is badly strained in consequence--the back being entirely new; nevertheless it is in a wonderful state of preservation. It is said to have been worked by Queen Katherine Parr herself. The design is too large for the book, and the crown is too large for the coat-of-arms. It is probable that the binding of the book was done after the death of Henry VIII., otherwise the supporters would have been the lion and the greyhound; also the coat-of-arms would have been different; also, as the Seymour coat does not appear, it is likely that the binding was done before Queen Katherine Parr's marriage with Lord Seymour of Sudley, in 1547. The design is the same on both sides. [Illustration: 18--Queen Mary's Psalter. 14th-century MS.] _Queen Mary's Psalter._ 14th-century MS. Bound about 1553. The beautiful English manuscript of the fourteenth century known as 'Queen Mary's Psalter' was presented to her in 1553. It is bound in crimson velvet, measuring 11 by 6-3/4 inches, and appliqué on each side is a large conventional pomegranate-flower worked on fine linen in |
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