Embroidered Firescreen c. late 19th century

Editor: Here we have an "Embroidered Firescreen" from the late 19th century, likely silk and textile, by an anonymous artist. It’s quite regal, almost like a banner. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, a firescreen. Beyond its purely decorative appeal, and that very, very velvety blue!, it’s whispering tales of warmth, propriety, and quiet evenings shielded from flickering flames. See the heraldic imagery? That’s old money and class distilled into thread. It is pure cozy opulence. Doesn't it evoke the gothic romanticism, as if this screen protects a noble family sitting beside a large medieval hearth in their ancestral castle? Does it tell a story for you? Editor: I do feel transported, but not just to a hearth! To me, those images evoke the idea of royalty and castles as a construct. A cozy construct, of course, like it wants to sell me a fairy tale about a royal family. Curator: Indeed. A lovely paradox: functional object meets fantastical propaganda. These things are rarely *just* aesthetic or practical, aren’t they? I feel such curiosity for whoever sat behind this. The light playing across the silk, face half-hidden… a shadow, observing the observers. Almost makes one yearn for that time… before our… *everything* now. I love imagining the thoughts running through their heads. Editor: Absolutely. The more you consider the 'everyday' of history, the easier it is to picture ourselves there. A lot to unpack in an old firescreen. Curator: Agreed! A fragment of lived life preserved. Makes one consider, what object will whisper about us to future eyes? What tale would *it* tell? Food for thought.