Some Small Tapestries of Judith with the Head of Holofernes: Should They Be Called Sheldon?

Abstract

William Sheldon's proposals to establish tapestry weaving at Barcheston, Warwickshire, were outlined in his will of 1570. The image of Barcheston products, long forgotten, was first established in the 1920s, by a process of assumption and association. No attribution is documented. Examination here of nine tapestries displaying a single theme, classified as Sheldon only by analogy with examples themselves insecurely attributed, reveals widely disparate possible origins. Evidence for settlement of émigré tapestry weavers in London, not previously known, indicates that Barcheston was not the only production centre and suggests an embryonic tapestry industry centred in London. That same evidence must also, therefore, change perceptions of Sheldon's venture and the assessment of tapestries called Sheldon.

Review of periodical literature published in 2010

“…Mounfield offers a study of the Northampton footwear industry, which drew considerable demand from the Civil War armies. Finally, Turner finds tapestry‐weaving communities in London; thus the one in Barcheston (Warwickshire) associated with William Sheldon was not the only centre of English production.…”