Embroidered Picture of Man and Woman in a Garden, c.1660

Embroidered satin in coloured silks, mainly long and short stitch, with raised and padded work.

Pictures worked on white satin of couples in a garden were popular, in the 17th century. It is thought that they may celebrate marriage, as the cockatrice beside the man symbolises lust, considered one of the most deadly of sins. Some of the other animals may have meanings that would have been readily understood at the time.