Gallery Title
Gallery Title
The Judgement of Paris
Accession Number NWHCM : 1941.71
Description
Cushion cover or picture; ivory satin with raised embroidery in silks and metal purl, and pearl and bead decoration, panel of stumpwork; depicts the Judgement of Paris, Paris and the three Goddesses; also embroidered flower slips and a lion and leopard, original outline drawing of design can be seen in places; clothes of central figures in detached buttonhole fillings; faces of padded silk and hands of modelled wood, ground under figures in darned silk pile padded with wool, floral slips of silk canvas work in tent and detached spaced buttonhole stitch, lion and leopard raised and covered with painted metal purl threads; other motifs in French knots, satin and Florentine stitches; circa 1660-65, framed
Read MoreThe Judgement of Paris
An ivory satin cushion cover featuring raised embroidery in silk and metal purl, with pearl and bead decoration and a panel of stumpwork. It depicts the Judgement of Paris, a major event in Greek mythology which led to the Trojan War. Paris, a Trojan prince, is asked to judge the beauty of three goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. He awards the prize - a golden apple - to Aphrodite after she promises him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. As Helen is already married to King Menelaus of Sparta, Paris either seduces or abducts her (accounts differ) to claim Aphrodite's reward, sparking warfare between the Greeks and the Trojans.
This cushion cover depicts Paris handing the golden apple to Aphrodite. The faces of the central figures are made from padded silk and their hands from modelled wood covered by silk roving combed thin, while the ground beneath their feet is darned silk pile padded with wool. The scene also contains several animals, including a lion and a leopard covered with painted metal purl threads. It was made around 1660-1665, and the characters depicted wear the dress of the period.