Charles I and Charles II

Embroidered picture of Charles I just before his execution, with his son Charles II standing to the left. England, c. 1650-1660. Embroidered picture of Charles I just before his execution, with his son Charles II standing to the left. England, c. 1650-1660. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, acc. no. T.117-1936.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses a remarkable embroidered picture, representing Charles I just before his execution on 30 January 1649, with his son, Charles II, standing to the left. The embroidery is worked in silk and metallic thread, with seed pearls, on a white satin ground. It measures 36.5 x 47.3 cm.

The techniques that were used for the embroidery include the long and shirt stitch, split stitch, stem stitch, with buttonhole stitches, speckling, couching and raised work.

Charles I, praying, just before his execution on 30 January 1649. Engraving by William Marshall, from Eikon Basilike: The Porurtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings. London 1649.

The depiction of Charles I is taken from the frontispiece of the booklet Eikon Basilike: The Porutraicture of his Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (downloadable here). This booklet was produced and for sale in London just after Charles I's  execution. It presented the former king as a martyr who was persecuted for his virtures. The book went through 35 English editions within a year, and was translated into many European languages. Joost Hartgers in Amsterdam published five editions in 1649, with the title: Εικων Βασιλικη. Koninklick Memoriael. Waer in het innerlijk gemoet van sijne H. Majesteyt Carolus Stuart, Koninck van Engelandt, Schotlandt en Yrlandt, naer 't leven afgebeeldt wordt. Other editions, in a number of European languages, were published in The Hague by the English publisher, Samuel Browne.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 10 March 2017).

WV

Last modified on Friday, 10 March 2017 12:01