RARE ENGLISH NEEDLEWORK BOOK COVER, FIRST QUARTER 17TH CENTURY

Depicting Moses and Aaron, worked in rococo, tent and other stitches, in a later stained fruitwood frame.

Adele Kneeland, Lenox, Massachusetts;
Parke Bernet, New York, Collection of Adele Kneeland, September 23, 1938, lot 260;
Irwin Untermyer, New York;
Christie's, London, Costume and Textiles including the John Parry Needlework, March 12, 2003, sale 9583, lot 141;
M. Finkel & Daughter, Philadelphia.

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, English Domestic Needlework, November-December 1945.
New York, Cooper Union, Stitches in Time, January-April 1947.
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, History of Bookbinding, November-January 1957.

Yvonne Hackenbroch, English and Other Needlework in the Irwin Untermyer Collection, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1960), fig. 55.

Please note that the needlework has not been examined out of frame. Colors are well retained and tent stitch is of a very fine quality. Some of the dark browns have oxidized to expose foundation beneath. Minor losses at edges. Frame with old wood worm, age cracks, and rubbing. Please note that the conservators who did the previous conservation recommended that the frame not be hung due to the wood worm and dry rot to one vertical section. The piece underwent conservation in 2003 and it was repositioned on a padded archival mount.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Embroidered book covers were often created to fit over Bibles and display religious imagery, such as this example. The banding on the panel covering the spine was meant to mimic the cords found on leather bound books of this period. These embroidered Bibles, often created by women, represented their piety, industriousness, and skill. These Bibles were given as gifts between women and sometimes were even created to match other embroidered accessories, such as gloves.

A similar example done in tent stitch with religious imagery is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (64.101.1293), while another is illustrated Mary M. Brooks, Micheal & Elizabeth Feller: The Needlework Collection (New York: Needleprint, 2011), F401.