HYLAND
with thousands of silver-gilt sequins
sewn into its crimson satin curtains;
the King's Room Bed, its hangings
woven with golden thread; and the
James II Bed, its drapes made from
rare green and gold velvet. In Stuart
England, we should recall, as in the
rest of Europe, fine fabrics constituted
not merely a display of wealth, but a
tangible form of wealth, remembering
that Renaissance European bankers
often originally were silk merchants,
some of them—as in the case of the
Medici—becoming rulers.
Another textile treasure of Knole is
the very early seventeenth-century
Spiering tapestries, the finest of
their type held by the National Trust,
probably from Whitehall, depicting
scenes from the chivalric romance,
Amadis de Gaule, and from the
Greek Myths, including the tale of
Diana and Niobe, the latter punished
for boasting of her seven sons and
seven daughters.
Above: The Spiering tapestries, probably from Whitehall, depicting scenes from the
popular romance Amadis de Gaule and from the Greek myths, including the legend of
Diana and Niobe, punished for boasting of her seven sons and seven daughters.
