ellid | This is the cushion I'm talking about

The Cushion of Impruneta.

And here, because everyone is so darn curious:

I love his tail - what colour are his eyes?

His eyes are a very pale blue. They reflect red in photographs and strong light (standard in blue-eyed cats, oddly enough) so the red-eye feature in the camera seems to have bleached them. I'm glad the red in his tail showed up - he's a flamepoint Siamese mix, which means dilute albino, so he's tough to photograph.

It's a beautiful colour. I used to have a caramel-point Tonkinese (stolen, sob) and her eyes were hard to photograph. The icon is one I where I was able to use daylight.

Someone STOLE your kitty? That's awful! Poor kitty! She was lovely!

Yes - our cats have always been allowed out, as we live on a quiet lane in a country area, and at first we thought she was lost - she was a keen and far-ranging hunter. But when she didn't turn up (with half the children and all the dog-walkers and blackberry-pickers in the village helping search) and we advertised, we were contacted by three other people who'd lost pedigree cats locally over just a few days. By the time we learned that there is a brisk trade in stolen pets, it was too late. If either of our current cats turns up missing, we now know to look in the trade papers immediately - the thieves actually expect people to do that and pay to get their pets back. Which we would, of course. Shifra's microchipped, so we can keep hoping.

With the microchip, if she's recovered, you have legal grounds for prosecuting for animal theft. I hope all your other kitties stay safe and stay home.

Apparently it's always 'I bought her off a bloke down the pub for a hundred quid'. Very hard to prove.

Easy enough to prove you're the rightful owner if you've got the microchip paperwork. :)

Oh, how beautiful! Both of them. *g* Malfoy's an excellent name for him.

Doesn't he look like just the sort that Narcissa would have lounging about to complement the white peacocks? :D

Thanks for the photos. If you had not told me I would have thought that cushion was a modern design. Wow. And Mafloy is very handsome

My first thought when I saw a picture of the cushion was that it couldn't possibly be 15th century. Then I got a good look at it, and by God it *is* 15th century. The fabrics, the colors, even the designs (albeit more usually found in mosaics) - it all fits.

Even better: this morning I stopped by the Palazzo Davanzati, formerly the home of a wealthy merchant. The walls are covered with 14th century frescoes which look suspiciously like modern patchwork...:)

The cushion is wonderful! I love how they have the mirror beneath so you can see more than just the top. That's my biggest pet peeve with museums.

Isn't it fabulous? The girl who took my money seemed surprised that I wanted to see *that* first instead of the silver and the reliquaries, but once she figured out what I was talking about, she led me straight to the room.

I'm really excited about the cushion and can't wait to read what you write-up about it. I hope there are close up photos, so we can see the pattern better. It's hard for me to tell what's fabric decoration and what's different fabrics.

Malfoy looks to be a very pretty cat.

Glad you're having fun!

That was my thought too - there are some small patches which appear to be made from a lozenge-patterned fabric ... or are they really tiny lozenges of different coloured fabrics sewn together? They're so beautifully placed that it's hard to tell whether that's the case, or whether they were incredibly carefully cut to fit.

I wondered about that myself...but no, they really are very, very small pieces of silk sewn together in squares. The smallest pieces are about the size of my smallest fingernail, or perhaps 1/4-5/8 of an inch.

Blimey, that's impressive, then! I'm not sure I could manage pieces that small. The stitches must be TINY!

Ha ha! You're there. Any idea what it's stuffed with? (Said the man with the odd sense of curiosity.) I find the idea of a 500 year old cushion amazing.

Not sure yet. By odd coincidence, the woman who did the write-up on it for the Impruneta guidebook is the director at the Palazzo Davanzati. I'm going to try to call tomorrow to set up an appointment before I leave town.

And yes, I'm here! Footsore, and slightly spacy, but I absolutely love it.

*slightly* spacy on a trip like this??? I would figure that you had your feet on the topside of the clouds....

Yay Malfoy!

(Oh, yeah, the cushion is rather snazzy, too LOL)

He is a curiously pale creature with oddly shaped front feet and too many toes. HP Lovecraft would have adored him.

The cushion is jaw-dropping in person. It's by far the most important piece in the museum, but they want everyone to see the relics donated by the Medici to the cult of the local Virgin. Said relics include a hideous, hideous reliquary of St. Theodore's skull (adorned with a wreath of flowers), plus what I have this awful feeling are his internal organs in finely sewn silk bags. It's one of those things that takes religious feeling and turns into kitsch, and not the good kind of kitsch.

OTOH, I have now seen a series of postcards of David's genitals, from a plain close-up to a set wearing Groucho glasses and saying 'Ciao!' I'm tempted to buy one of those because they're so splendidly vulgar....

er, if you could pick up about a half-dozen of those postcards of David's genitals saying "Ciao!", I'd happily reimburse you. I have WAYYYYY too many friends who adore Eddie Izzard to let an opportunity like THAT get away!

What a handsome boy!

Fascinting cushion...and it's patchwork, you say! My embroiderer's eye would guess applique at first glance. What are the dimensions (approximately)...can't judge scale from the pic.

Cushion is 29 cm by 28 cm, or approximately 12 by 12 inches. The stars are approximately four inches, and the ones on the back are about half an inch on point.

And isn't Malfoy a cutie? Unfortunately, he *knows* he's gorgeous, and never lets me forget it.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Wants to snuggle the kitty-cat!

Isn't he cute? He loves to flop on the floor and roll onto his back, front paws tucked delicately again his chest.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

I used to have a Russian Blue named Pookie that did that. He lives with someone else now, because the place I am doesn't allow pets.

That's gorgeous - and amazing! I'm just so GLAD for you, that you're there, seeing it up close and personal! :-)

And Malfoy-the-cat is also quite gorgeous. ;-)

I am completely amazed on both counts.

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The Last Homely Shack East of the Manhan

This is the cushion I'm talking about

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