Romancing the Stuarts

The 3 May 2013 issue of TLS has an intriguing detail of a Restoration-era beaded basket of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza.  The Holburne Museum of Bath, is seeking to acquire the basket, and a brief video of the Holburne's Direction, Alexander Sturgis being interviewed by the National Funding Scheme, provides a better view of the whole basket.

The Holburne Museum seems to be a deserving resting place for the basket, as they already have an embroidery or "stumpwork" of the story of Charles from hiding in the "Royal Oak," and his flight in disguise to his accession to the throne. Both pieces are intricate. And their existence perhaps suggest some contemporaries' dedicated devotion not so much to the sacrality but to the romance of kingship.