Research:
Of silk and metallic threads on velvet ground set within a shaped frame gilded paper edging and a marbleized paper-covered easel back. The embroidered imagery depicting paired cornucopiae at the bottom joined by a bow and ribbons issue scrolling vines and leaves with flowers and wheat sheaves in their openings.
Provenance:
An English Collection
The portrait contained within the present frame is that of Mrs. Mary Robinson (1757–1800), mistress of the future George IV, taken after a 1781 engraving by John Keyse Sherwin (1751–1790), a history painter and engraver to the king and the Prince of Wales. The frame containing this print of Robinson is embroidered on a cream colored velvet ground using colored silks and metallic threads. According to textile scholars, the style of embroidery and design is absolutely typical of the last quarter of the eighteenth century in England and France, and may be compared to a court train of related design that incorporates metal thread on a velvet ground.
Full research report available on request.