Beschreibung:

Property from a Private Scottish West Coast CollectionA large Historical woolwork and glass bead needlework picture panel, second half 19th century, depicting ‘Mary Queen of Scots weeping over the dying Douglas at the Battle of Langside, 1568’, after Charles Landseer (1799-1879)
worked in polychrome wools in tent stitch with details highlighted with glass beads, predominantly dark beads for details of shadows on horses and accessories on figures, mounted in a magnificent glazed gilt-gesso and giltwood frame, surmounted by the crown of St Edward with laurel, each corner with a cabochon cartouche clasp and thistle, the lower border centred by a plaque painted with an inscription; ‘Queen Mary weeping over the dying Douglass [sic] at the Battle of Langside, 1568'Framed approximately 142cm high, 185cm wide, 13cm deep; 4ft. 8in., 6ft. ¾in., 5in.Textile panel visible 99.5cm high, 142cm wide; 3ft. 3 ¼in., 4ft. 8in.Condition reportThe needlework panel is in overall very good condition. The colours are pale hues and shades of beige and brown. The background is very light. The predominantly dark beads are used to highlight armour, shadows, jewellery and reins of the horse for example. It is an impressively large needlework panel with a touching scene. The glazed carved gilt frame has some minor surface losses, and is in good overall condition. The cresting on the top of the frame is detachable.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceMargaret Stark (n.d);
to her daughter also Margaret Stark (b.1879);
thence by descent in that family.
The present lot was embroidered by female members of the Stark family, who lived in the prosperous 'West End' of Glasgow in the second half of the 19th century. According to family tradition the piece is most likely the work of the elder sisters of seven, Helen, Isobel, Elizabeth, Annie, Mary, Jessie and Margaret Stark (see fig. 1, a photograph from the end of the 19th century, where the girls appear in the named order above, starting centre back and proceeding clockwise).Catalogue noteThis textile panel is inspired by a very popular painting by the celebrated artist Charles Landseer who was especially well known for his heroic and historical subject matter and exhibited the painting in 1837 and 1862. The army of Mary Queen of Scots was defeated by Regent Moray at Langside in 1568, and George Douglas of Lochleven died on the battlefield and the defeat resulted in her flight to England and eventual imprisonment by Elizabeth I. It is an especially poignant event in the life of Queen Mary. The painting is thought to have been inspired in turn by Sir Walter Scott's novel 'The Abbot'. On the painting's initial presentation in 1837 it inspired four versions interpreted by embroiderers which were shown in the Great Exhibition of 1851. As such a popular subject for embroiderers in continued to be copied throughout the 19th century. Worked from a 'Berlin woolwork' kit, which is a colour codes canvas on which to work in polychrome wool threads, and usually using a repeat of tent or continental stitch, the technique became the most popular form of embroidery from 1860 onwards. 
Two versions are housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. They include a needlework version worked in wool by Mrs Jane Brumlen from a woolwork kit, circa 1870, approximately 110cm high, 154cm wide and framed 140cm by 185cm (Inv. T.9-1927) and another version in lighter and paler colours, worked between 1830-1869, possibly by Mrs Vincent P. Rawlings (1804-1886), mounted in a glazed frame, approximately 138cm high, 169cm wide (Inv. T.298-1963). The present panel has the addition of the glass beads which is very time consuming additional technique to incorporate into a large panel.