Italian
Armorial Motif for Application with Design of Arm with Wheat, 17th century
Gilt-shot silk, embroidered with silk yarns and couched silver and gilt yarns
This is a six-sided piece of heraldry in which the top is about half the length of the bottom, and the sides angle out from the top and then straighten down to the bottom. The background is a shade of olive green and is adorned with embroidered gilt yarns and twists of sage green rope with tassels at the ends. The inner area is yellow and adorned with gilt embroidery and contains a coat of arms outlined in gilt embroidery. The top section of the coat or arms is yellow and contains an embroidered flower with four petals in shades of peach and four green leaves. The middle section is a band of red and contains a similar, smaller flower displayed on a leafy stem positioned horizontally. The bottom section is green and contains a human arm outlined in gilt embroidery holding yellow branches of wheat.
Little Salon
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.