Minneapolis Institute of Art

Table cover

Denmark

Date

c. 1650

Medium

Linen plain weave, silk embroidery

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This table cover features redwork embroidery, a Scandinavian textile tradition still alive today. It is decorated with scenes from the life of Jesus, beginning with the Annunciation (when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive Jesus) and concluding with his crucifixion and resurrection. The scenes are paired with quotations copied from the Danish Lutheran Bible, issued by King Frederick II of Denmark in 1589. The religious theme would have suited the contexts in which the table cover was used. It would have covered a long table set for a large gathering, either on a religious feast day or in celebration of a birth or marriage. Europe

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