The Britomart casket, start to finish

A timeline of the making of the Britomart casket, covering the earliest drafts from 2015 to the final finish in 2023

All photos and designs are my own and may not be reproduced or shared without permission.  All rights reserved.

NB: the beaded basket that makes a brief appearance here is shown in my flosstube #26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqDJ7SJ2TAI&t=4s

The Britomart casket is an original design that pays homage to some of my favorite historic caskets, especially this masterpiece from the Longridge collection: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6229108
And the Fenton House casket: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/322851867024110744/
https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1448759.1

It tells the story of Britomart, the female knight in Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene, published in 1596, depicting her journey from princess of Britain who looks into a magic mirror and sees her destiny, her quest disguised as a male knight, to Britomart triumphant as a female knight.

The Faerie Queene is an Elizabethan allegorical epic, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I and written to curry favor at her court.  It draws on Arthurian legend and imagery to reinforce the claimed Tudor link to the historic King Arthur of legend. 

Each panel depicts a scene from the Faerie Queene: 
Left side: the beginning of Britomart's journey where, as a princess of Britain she looks into a magic mirror and sees her destiny - her true love, Artegall.  She decides to disguise herself as a male knight and undertake a quest to Faerie Lond to seek him.
Right side: With Britomart in disguise, Britomart's hostess attempts a midnight assignation with what she assumes is the handsome young man staying with her.  Britomart, angry and female, confronts her and soldiers run in.
Front: Britomart chooses to reveal herself and embrace her identity as a female knight after winning a tournament.  Styled heavily after the front of the Longridge collection casket.
Back: Britomart rescues her companion Amoret from the castle of the sorcerer Buisirane.  Britomart watches the Masque of Cupid being staged to torment Amoret before rescuing her. 
Lid: The culmination of Britomart's story happens outside her own book (III) and in book V, the story of her true love Artegall, the knight of Justice.  Artegall has been defeated and captured by the Amazonian warrior queen Radigund, the most formidable foe Britomart faces.  He and the other captured knights are forced to dress as women and do women's work, spinning and sewing.  Informed of Artegall's capture by his squire, Britomart rides to the rescue and defeats Radigund in combat. 

The casket itself is a reproduction form from Thistle Threads, and I learned the stumpwork techniques featured on this piece, especially needlelace, from the Thistle Threads course Cabinet of Curiosities Part II: Stumpwork: https://thistle-threads.myshopify.com/products/stumpwork-part-ii-cabinet-of-curiosities
A short video about the course is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDb-qfDXNCk