It is thought this tapestry was made some time between 1575 and 1600. The tapestry depicts Judith holding the head of Holophernes, the commander of the Assyrian army. The story is taken from the Book of the Apocryhpa in the Bible.
It is said the Sheldons made tapestries in the St Stephens Gateway chapel of Bordesley Abbey after the Abbey was left to ruin following its closure in 1538.
Sheldon Tapestry: Judith & Holofernes
Contributed by Forge Mill Museum
Most of the content on A History of the World is created by the contributors, who are the museums and members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ or the British Museum. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site’s House Rules please Flag This Object.
About this object
Click a button to explore other objects in the timeline
- Location
-
Bordesley, Redditch
- Culture
- Period
- Theme
- Size
- Colour
- Material
View more objects from people in Hereford & Worcs.
Find out more
Podcast
Highlights from the collection
´óÏó´«Ã½ iD
´óÏó´«Ã½ navigation
´óÏó´«Ã½ links
´óÏó´«Ã½ © 2014 The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
Comments
Derived from the Old Testament Apocrypha, printed after the Reformation only in Catholic Bibles, the tapestry is finely woven in silver-gilt, silk and woollen threads. It is based on an earlier German print.
There is no certainty that it should be associated with the weaving venture planned by William Sheldon in 1570. The tapestry's whereabouts in the sixteenth century are unknown.
The Sheldons did not own or lease any part of the dissolved abbey at Bordesley. None of the seventeenth or eighteenth-century historians of Worcestershire make any mention of the project.
There is little documentary evidence for the project and none at all to establish its products.