ABSTRACT
Imagery representing the Christian scheme of sin and salvation could be seen in many domestic houses in post-reformation England. Two iconographies were by far the most popular as a subject for interior decoration: Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit (synonymous with the concept of sin) and Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac, which, as an Old Testament prefiguration of the Crucifixion, represented obedience and redemption. In the houses of the gentry and the more prosperous among the middling sort, these iconographies were commonly depicted in large-scale fixtures and furnishings such as wall painting, wood carving, plasterwork and textiles; and it is likely that these same subjects could be seen in printed wares in lesser houses. 1
