A rare Elizabeth I/James I tapestry cushion cover, English, circa 1600-1620

Worked in coloured wools and silks, designed with a scene from the Binding of Isaac; Abraham central with his sword raised high to strike his son, who is bound on a wooden pyre, an angel appearing from above to stop him, a ram caught in a thicket to the left, a servant waiting on the donkey in the background to the right, the whole scene framed within a naive classical arcade, the top and lower borders contain hunting scenes, the sides decorative motifs, fountains, fruit and floral displays, museum glazed, framed

For a similar cushion cover depicting the Flight into Egypt, also attributed to the Sheldon works see The Victoria & Albert Museum, London (T.191-1926)

Hilary L Turner has written extensively on the Sheldon workshops in Warwickshire, robustly questioning whether it is valid to attribute tapestries like this to Sheldon or to an alternative source in England

This cushion cover appears to be by the same maker as the V&A example

• Height 47 cm / 18 "
• Width 50 cm / 19 "