From Stone to Textile: The Bacchus Mosaic at Stonesfield, Oxon., and the Stonesfield Embroidery

Abstract

The Oxfordshire County Museum Service, with financial assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Art Collections Fund and the Stonesfield Embroidery Appeal, recently purchased the Stonesfield Embroidery, an early-18th-century needlework carpet using the design of the Roman Bacchus mosaic discovered in 1712 close to the village of Stonesfield (Oxon.). Research was subsequently undertaken to examine the many different images of the mosaic produced following its discovery in 1712, the correspondence of interested antiquaries of the day and its subsequent archaeological publication, and its wider diffusion into different aspects of 18th-century life, particularly decorative art and design.This article considers in detail the evidence for the embroidery's design and manufacture, and explores the technical aspects of it as a textile. The opportunity is also taken to reassess the original Bacchus mosaic and villa site in the context of recent research into the region and Roman Britain.