c1900 tea time needlepoint tapestry with hand painted faces

SOLD

Beautiful antique hand stitched scenic needlepoint tapestry featuring a man and woman in Edwardian style clothing, measuring 26″ high by 46″ wide. The fine details (faces, hands, tea set) are worked in silk thread tent stitches over a single canvas thread while the rest of the scene and background are stitched with wool yarn over 2 canvas threads in an unusual slanted Gobelin stitch rather than the typical tent stitch. Additional details were added by painting over the needlepoint stitches! The lady is about 19″ tall.The canvas mesh has about 16 threads to the inch.

The yarn colors are still vibrant and don’t appear to have faded at all compared to the back. The overall condition is very good although there are a few spots of moth nibbles in the wool background (perhaps half a dozen areas, each very small). The slanted stitches have pulled the canvas askew but that is easily remedied by blocking or framing. There is about 2″ of blank canvas all around to allow for finishing or framing, and while there is glue and paper residue from an earlier mounting, the canvas is still soft and flexible.