The wall hanging is embroidered in silk on a silk damask ground material (a Morris cloth called ‘The Oak’), with a cotton backing. The embroidery was worked in a darning stitch with stem stitch used as an outline on some of the flower blooms. In addition, other areas were worked in buttonhole filling, satin stitch, laid and couching work, as well as French knots.
The central motif of the wall hanging depicts an orange tree with a red acanthus leaf loosely wound around the tree’s trunk. There are two pigeons sitting on one of the leaves. Other flowers in the panel include bluebells, forget-me-nots, thistles, tulips, as well as various exotic species.
See also the Needles entry on the Owl panel.
V&A online catalogue (retrieved 28 March 2016).
GVE