From the website: "Hardwick is internationally renowned for its collections, most notably its textiles, largely sourced and collected by Bess of Hardwick in the later years of the sixteenth century. Four years after Bess moved into Hardwick she compiled a list of all the objects in the house, giving a unique insight into the furnishings of an Elizabethan house."
Below, Bess of Hardwick, c. 1567.
Below, Bess of Hardwick, c. 1567.
Below, the recently conserved 'Lucretia,' one of four Noble Women embroideries mmade for and at Hardwick. Perhaps history honors Lucretia as the inspiration for the transition from monarchy to the Roman Republic, but it took her rape and subsequent suicide to accomplish the feat. Sort of a difficult inspiration IMHO, but meaningful to history (they say). She is an important character in the writings of Livy, Ovid, Dante, and Chaucer, among others.
Below left, a photograph of rehanging the embroidery at Hardwick Hall, from the National Trust. Right, NT's photo of another of the Noble Women, 'Penelope', from The Odyssey, the faithful wife of Odysseus, a symbol of fidelity.
More from the website: "By the mid-1590s when Hardwick was taking shape, Bess had already furnished her great house at Chatsworth but could only bring a small proportion of the contents with her when she moved back to Hardwick, so in the winter of 1592-3 Bess went on a shopping spree while in London. Amongst her purchases were the Gideon set of tapestries purchased from the estate of Sir Christopher Hatton for the huge sum of £326 15s 9d (from which £5 was deducted because Bess had to change the Hatton coat of arms to her own). Below, one of the thirteen Gideon tapestries telling the story from the Old Testament Bookof Judges.
In the Long Gallery, many of the tapestries are seen behind the portrait collection.
Of the more than one hundred textiles at Hardwick Hall, my favorite also recently conserved, is the Birds with Foliage beside one of the staircases. Perhaps this is because the conservators have restored the brilliant colors of the original piece, which they discover during the process of restoration. Within the very tight stitches of the tapestry, the colors are still vivid.
In the Great High Chamber, Bess hung her purchase of the Ulysses tapestries, telling the story from Homer's The Oddyssey.
Bess also purchased a smaller set of tapestries that now hang in the Drawing Room and a set of tapestries that hang in the Green Velvet Bedroom, as below.
I wish I had more carefully noted the names of all the tapestries, but perhaps I had fallen under their spell and just gazed in appreciation. Ah, what more does one have to say than, The Lovers, below.
Next time, the last resident of Hardwick Hall, Evelyn, Duchess of Devonshire, who lived from 1890 to 1960.
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