I went to my first textile auction and I found this very unique embroidery in a battered frame – believed to have been Commissioned by Queen Anne (1702-1714). It’s what I found in the back that intrigued me to send it to Sotherbys, V&A and Kerry Taylors Auction houses to investigate.
I found a letter stating the history of the panel. It says it’s from a wedding dress of Lucretia Marsh, the daughter of Francis Marsh (the Archbishop of Dublin) who was lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne and the grand-daughter of the sister to Queen Anne’s Mother. It’s very interesting and, potentially, valuable, according to the collector of the archive of the Marsh family and even The Earl of Clarendon from which the daughter descended from. I do wonder if the wedding dress is still around…
They are not convinced from the photos that it’s embroidered or if it’s from a wedding dress, so the hunt goes on to join the dots and ascertain if it is a valuable piece or just a great treasure/experience/inspiration for a textile design.
If you need assistance on sourcing a unique-style textile; finding a manufacturer; making a unique uniform or you need design & sourcing consultancy, do get in touch and we can send you inspiration and information based on our director’s collection of projects over the last 30yrs here.
