Oxburgh Hangings

The Oxburgh Hangings are needlework hangings that are held in Oxburgh Hall, made by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick. The hangings were made between the years 1570 and approximately 1585. An accomplished needlewoman, Bess of Hardwick joined Mary at Chatsworth House for extended periods in 1569, 1570, and 1571, during which time they worked together on the hangings. At that time Mary was imprisoned, in the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The hangings' design was devised at her request. The Oxburgh Hangings consist of green velvet hangings, each with a square centerpiece with octagonal panels of emblems of plants and animals surrounding it. The hangings have been made into a wall hanging, two bed curtains and a valance, although these were probably not the original arrangement of the needlework, but instead most likely an arrangement sewn together in the late 17th century. There is also a group of 33 embroideries which are the remains of another hanging. The panels in the hangings, of which there are over a hundred, were made in cross stitch on canvas and applied to a green velvet background, and the designs of the panels were mostly based on four continental emblem books which Mary had; the panel designs were copied from wood-cut illustrations by well-known authors such as Claude Paradin, Conrad Gessner, and Pierre Belon. Some of the panels' emblems include a phoenix (the symbol of Mary's mother Marie of Guise), and a dragon and a unicorn. The panels made by Mary have her monogram, the letters MA superimposed on the Greek letter phi, and the panels made by Bess have the initials ES.
The hangings are now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum, although they are on permanent long-term loan at Oxburgh Hall.