Object details
Accession number
T27e822.1-2
Primary Creator
Scottish
Full title
Two Tassels
Creation Date
about 1561-1568
Object Case
Mary Queen Of Scots Case
Provenance
Possibly from the bed of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), Holyrood Castle, Scotland.
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Marks
Inscribed in Isabella Stewart Gardner's hand (on a note accompanying the tassels): From the bed of Mary Queen of Scots, Holyrood Castle.
Dimensions
2 cm (13/16 in.)
Display Media
Silk, velvet
Web Commentary
These small tassels were purportedly snipped from the Holyrood Castle bed of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary Stuart held a special fascination for Isabella Stewart Gardner, who felt a kinship to the persecuted queen for their shared surname. In tribute to her imagined ancestor, Gardner placed these intimate relics on display in the museum’s Long Gallery.
Permanent Gallery Location
Long Gallery
Rights and reproductions
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