-
2. Pearls in the Armada Portraits
By Ellie Doran (@Elena_Doran) Only three Armada Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I survive.[1] All were painted to commemorate the English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Whilst it is fun to play ‘spot the difference’ between the details in each portrait, these paintings also provide beautiful sources for examining the global in the early modern period.
-
5. Children’s drawings in a calico book
By Zara Kesterton (@ZaraKesterton) The V&A holds a large collection of textile designs by William Kilburn, one of the most innovative designers of eighteenth-century Britain.[1] Born in Dublin in 1745, Kilburn completed his apprenticeship at a cotton printing factory before moving to London to establish himself in the trade. He specialised in botanical motifs, depicting familiar and exotic…
-
7. A Book of Memory from Medieval Alsace
By Kate Falardeau (@kate_falardeau) Columns prop up a detailed architectural façade. To the left of the composition, the zodiac sign Capricorn emerges from a hypnotic spiral. To the right, a proclamation seems to be issued. The scroll, held by a ruler and an anxious looking man, actually contains a regimen to be followed during January…
-
16. The Tupinumbá Sacred Mantle
By Amelia Hutchinson (@ameliagraceh_) ‘In my opinion I have never seen anything which for beauty could more delight the human eye’ – Peter Martyr (1519) upon seeing the first feather-works to arrive in Europe.[1] Feather-work items formed an integral part of early modern Mesoamerican and Andean visual and material culture. Using carefully selected colours and…
-
22. The Centenary British Commemorative Medallion Representing Britain’s Capture of Trinidad from the Spanish
By Aileen Alexis The year 1797 signalled a watershed moment in the colonial history of Trinidad. Before that year, Trinidad was under the rule of the Spanish Crown, England’s newest enemy. Trinidad became a pawn in European rivalries that brought General Abercromby to the shores of Trinidad that year. This would mark the beginning of…
doinghistoryinpublic.org 