The Four Seasons tapestries at Hatfield House

Abstract

Acknowledged as one of the most important sets of early English tapestries, the Four Seasons set at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, raise many scholarly questions surrounding the design, production and uses of woven tapestry in sixteenth and early-seventeenth century England. In this new study Michael Bath challenges previous assumptions about both their date and their status as 'Sheldon' tapestries, whilst embarking on a long-overdue explication of their subject matter and iconography.