A 16th century Italian embroidered border

The design of cupids, lions, dolphins and birds amongst serpentine trunks of oak issuing acorns and leaves, worked in Holbein stitch in silk on a fine linen ground. The central reserve, which would originally have been of the same fine linen, is now of plain silk.

The pattern used here may be seen on several textiles in public collections.

A cloth in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (inventory number: Т-2799) https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/11.+Textiles,+Tapestry/263398/?lng=en

A linen and silk towel in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY (accession number: 68.145.6) https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/229258

A band, in silk and metal thread on linen, in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, NY (accession number: 1954-167-2) https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18400565/

A redwork version in the St. Gallen Textilmuseum (accession number: 123760)

& a 17th century redwork cloth of the same design, with an outer band worked with a mirrored version of the same motifs, was sold at Bonham’s as lot 607 in their auction of 1st July 2015.

A border of similar form and colouring, but with a different design, is in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, NY (accession number: 1896-1-101) https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18094391/

The textile 25.7cm (10⅛”) high and 39.9cm (15¾”) wide, now mounted on 18th century blue sized linen.

Framed size 41.9cm (16½”) high and 56.25cm (22⅛”) wide.