This cushion is linked to the so-called “Sheldon” tapestry workshop, supposed to have been established in a village in Warwickshire by a man called William Sheldon. In recent years, further research has shown the involvement of immigrant craftspeople in the production, design, and manufacture of the so-called “Sheldon” tapestries. Indeed, tapestry weaving was not an English skill in the early 1500s. A large number of immigrant weavers came to England in the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, particularly from Flemish areas on the continent. Research suggests that a man called Richard Hyckes was central to the production of these tapestries and to the work of Sheldon and his manufacturing scheme. Hyckes, like many of his colleagues, came to England from the Netherlands, bringing his skill, talent, and experience. He is also connected to the Great Wardrobe in London, part of Elizabeth I’s household. She had inherited a large number of extremely valuable tapestries from her father, Henry VIII, for which Hyckes seems to have cared. <br /> <br /> The ownership of cloths woven with intricate patterns like this one, especially those telling Biblical or classical stories, would have been a prized aesthetic domestic feature for middling and upper-middling individuals – it would have made a clear connection to the much larger pieces in the houses of the nobility and royalty. This cushion is part of a set depicting the story of Susanna and the Elders (in the Old Testament), and shows Susanna, on her way to execution, meeting Daniel, the boy who defended her by speaking up against the Elders’ slander. Owning sets of matching small domestic textiles is a key feature of upper-middling identity. This object and ones like it stand testament to the skill and labour that came from middling European immigration, and the way it shaped middling domestic life in England.
Tapestry cushion cover (Cushion cover), c.1590-1610

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Tapestry cushion cover

Tapestry cushion cover (Cushion cover), c.1590-1610

This cushion is linked to the so-called “Sheldon” tapestry workshop, supposed to have been established in a village in Warwickshire by a man called William Sheldon. In recent years, further research has shown the involvement of immigrant craftspeople in the production, design, and manufacture of the so-called “Sheldon” tapestries. Indeed, tapestry weaving was not an English skill in the early 1500s. A large number of immigrant weavers came to England in the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, particularly from Flemish areas on the continent. Research suggests that a man called Richard Hyckes was central to the production of these tapestries and to the work of Sheldon and his manufacturing scheme. Hyckes, like many of his colleagues, came to England from the Netherlands, bringing his skill, talent, and experience. He is also connected to the Great Wardrobe in London, part of Elizabeth I’s household. She had inherited a large number of extremely valuable tapestries from her father, Henry VIII, for which Hyckes seems to have cared.

The ownership of cloths woven with intricate patterns like this one, especially those telling Biblical or classical stories, would have been a prized aesthetic domestic feature for middling and upper-middling individuals – it would have made a clear connection to the much larger pieces in the houses of the nobility and royalty. This cushion is part of a set depicting the story of Susanna and the Elders (in the Old Testament), and shows Susanna, on her way to execution, meeting Daniel, the boy who defended her by speaking up against the Elders’ slander. Owning sets of matching small domestic textiles is a key feature of upper-middling identity. This object and ones like it stand testament to the skill and labour that came from middling European immigration, and the way it shaped middling domestic life in England.

This object appears in our memory parlour and web tour. Can you find it?

Object Type Cushion cover
Year c.1590-1610
Material Textile
Owned By SBT 1993-31/304b
Keywords making; craftsmanship; consumption; decoration; networks; occupation; comfort; mobility; trade and exchange; travel; textiles; slander; reputation
Image Credit Cushion Cover (c.1590-1610) textile. SBT 1993-31/304b, CC-BY-NC-ND; Image Courtesy of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

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