The Eye of the Needle: "Both needful and pleasant, and commendable in any woman"
The Eye of the Needle displays, for the first time in public, a selection of eye-catching, virtuoso seventeenth-century
embroideries from the renowned Feller Collection, together with outstanding examples from the Ashmolean's own holdings. The exhibition explores the context in which these technically exacting works were made by girls and young women at home or school, and what they reveal of the society, economy, and culture of seventeenth-century England.
The embroideries were made during one of the most turbulent centuries in English history, when religious and political beliefs split families and the country. Beyond the opportunity for demonstrating technical ability, the embroideries illustrate the themes and concerns which occupied the minds of the young women making them. They often depict biblical stories at a time when religious issues, including the use of images, aroused great controversy.
Similarly, during a period of increasing urbanization the pictorial pieces show idyllic country scenes with imaginary creatures and flowers.
The role that these embroideries played in both creating and reflecting ideals of feminine behavior is also an important part of their history. The seventeenth century saw periodic and often raucous pamphlet wars over the status, roles and education of women. Many girls attended school but the curriculum they followed prioritized the attainment of socially acceptable skills and moral worth over intellectual achievement. While many of the embroideries illustrate biblical themes inventively worked into secular contexts, and the use of myths shows women's engagement with the classics, needlework was, above all, a valued feminine skill. If a girl excelled at it she could hope for social and religious rewards. In a 1688 'conduct book' ascribed to school mistress, 'domestic goddess' and author, Hannah Woolley, needlework is described as, "both needful and pleasant, and commendable in any woman, for it is time well spent for both profit and delight."
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