In the centre is the royal
coat-of-arms within an oval garter ensigned with a royal crown, in the
adornment of which a few seed pearls are used, as they are also on the
ends of the garter.
Enclosing the coat-of-arms is an ornamental border of straight lines and
curves, worked with a thick gold twist, intertwined with graceful sprays
of double and single roses, outlined in gold and coloured red, with buds
and leaves. A few symmetrical arabesques, similarly outlined and
coloured, fill in some of the remaining spaces. The work on this book, a
_New Testament in Greek_, printed at Leyden in 1576, is like no other;
but the general idea of the design, rose-sprays cleverly intertwined, is
one that may be considered characteristic of the Elizabethan embroidered
books, as it frequently occurs on them. The use of water-colour with
embroidery is very rare, and it is never found on any but silk or satin
bindings, generally as an adjunct in support of coloured-silk work over
it, but in this single instance it is used alone.
_Seventeenth-Century Embroidered Books._
The books described hitherto have been specimens of rare early
instances, but in the seventeenth century there is a very large field to
choose from. Small books, mostly religious works, were bound in satin
from the beginning of the century until the time of the Commonwealth in
considerable numbers; so much so, in fact, that their value depends not
so much upon their designs or workmanship as upon their condition.
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