Description:
Coat of arms of the Sherburne family of Boston, done in silk needlework on satin with "By the name of Sherburne" printed across the bottom. The coat of arms is topped with the head of a unicorn flanked by scrolling flowers, over a shield in four quarters with two birds and two rampant lions, over a scrolling banner with a Latin inscription (partial). Although few American families were conferred arms by the English College of Heralds, the aristocratic connotation was no less meaningful to established families in New England; they did not hesitate to select arms of people with common surnames. By 1730, Boston heraldic painters had access to a number of publications that illustrated coats of arms from which to copy or combine elements. Heraldic embroidery provided the perfect forum for displaying needlework, education, leisure, status, and family allegiance. Nearly all the Boston coats of arms appear to be in basically the same form, but the earlier ones seem to be more lavishly embroidered in metallic material. These have been mistaken for hatchments, the coats of arms of the deceased which were often painted on black backgrounds and carried in funeral procession, hung in churches, and placed on the exterior of the deceased's house. However there is no evidence that these embroidered coats of arms were associated with funeral rituals although their shape and black backgrounds were probably inspired by funeral hatchments.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1147 |
