ABSTRACT
Religious imagery was used to decorate a range of domestic objects, fixtures and furnishings in post-Reformation Britain. During the period from about 1560 to 1660 characters and scenes from the Old and New Testaments were painted, carved and sculpted on the walls and ceilings of houses belonging to the gentry and the so-called ‘middling sort’.1 Religious imagery also embellished various objects including furniture, textiles, poĴery and silverware.2 This essay is concerned with the functions of religious imagery in the seĴing of the home and in the wider context of contemporary debates about the status of religious imagery in Protestant culture. It explores how the everyday and familiar domestic environment sets the context for the reception of religious imagery and conversely how the imagery influences the use of domestic objects and spaces.
