Happy New Year 2021
Continuing with John Gerard’s ‘The Herball’ 1597 Frontispiece. The lady – possibly a portrayal of the goddess Flora, is holding a basket of flowers in each hand. I can see a rose or is it a tulip in the left basket? Why are all the flora petals in the basket shown in red?
John Gerard’s ‘vertues’ of the rose
“The distilled water of roses is good for the strengthening of the heart and refreshing of the spirits and likewise for all things that require a gentle cooling... It mitigateth the paine of the eies proceeding of a hot cause, bringeth sleep, which also the fresh roses themselves provoke through their sweet and pleasant smell.”
I have included an applique of roses compiled in 2016 for comparison. All of the fabric is made from a broken brolly (umbrella).
