This is a recording of a live online event held on Wednesday 1 October 2025.
Our new intimate exhibition, Divine and Mythical Creatures from the RSN Collection & Archive, showcases fantastical pieces from Royal School of Needlework’s Collection & Archive with a focus on imaginary earthly and celestial beings, both human and animal. The display is situated in one of our Embroidery Studios at Hampton Court Palace and will run on selected dates from 24 September 2025 to June 2026.
Join RSN Curator of Textiles, Dr Isabella Rosner for a preview of the exhibits which span multiple centuries and continents, illustrating everything from dragons to heraldic beasts and ancient gods and goddesses.
Isabella says: ‘When we think of embroidery we often think about embellishing and rendering with thread the world we see around us, but so much of needlework throughout history has focused on embroidering the imaginary and making the fictional real. This desire to depict fantastical creatures has spanned continents and centuries, allowing us to track creatures like angels and unicorns around the world through stitch’.
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