Cheltenham: Elizabethan-era bible cover sells for £120,000

An embroidered bible cover dating back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I has sold for £120,000 after a bidding war.

Sold by the Cotswold Auction Company, it features scrolling foliage, Tudor Roses, cornflowers, daisies and fruit.

Auctioneer Elizabeth Poole described it as "a truly exceptional example of Elizabethan embroidery".

The item was expected to sell for between £10,000 and £20,000 but fierce competition between bidders drove the price well above the estimate.

The Tudor queen reigned for 45 years between 1558 and 1603 and rare and expensive textiles were a powerful status symbol throughout the era.

The item was originally thought to be a cushion cover, but is now believed to be a bible or prayer book cover.

It is believed to date from the later part of Elizabeth I's reign, and while it could have been made in the early part of the reign of her successor James I, this is thought unlikely because of the presence of the Tudor rose in the motif.

It is worked in coloured silks and silver gilt threads which, unlike other examples that survive from the period, still retain their vivid original hues.

The cover was sold in Cheltenham on 8 August.

It was previously owned by an aristocratic family in Gloucestershire for many generations and had been kept in a trunk away from sunlight, which it accounts for its extraordinary condition.

Ms Poole said: "We were delighted with the outcome. This was a truly exceptional example of Elizabethan embroidery.

"Fabrics usually fade over time, but the colours on this bible cover were as vibrant as when they were first stitched."

Ornate religious texts were often given as gifts during the Tudor period.

A copy of a prayer book handwritten by a 12-year-old Elizabeth herself in French and Italian, bound in an embroidered cover, is held in the British Library.

The book was a present for her father, Henry VIII, and features his initials entwined with those of his final wife Katherine Parr.

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