Sep
24
Antique and Collectible Embroidery
September 24, 2009 |
It was customary for the royal courts of Europe to employ professional
embroiderers to work heraldic insignia and all kinds of furnishings. The
church was also a lavish patron, and although some work was done in
n onasteries and convents, the best and most valued was made by pro-
f( fconal specialists. From early on ‘the labours of the distaff and needle’
re considered of prime importance for ladies all over Europe, and
spinning, weaving and fine needlework formed an important part of
eyery girl’s education prior to her marriage.
In the medieval period the finest of all embroidery was the ecclesiastical
work produced in England. Opus Anglicanum, as it was called, was
w arked with coloured silks and couched gold and silver threads, and the
designs - of saints, angels and heraldic motifs - have close parallels in
tl e manuscript illumination of the time. Opus Anglicanum was exported
t( Europe on a large scale, and although France, Germany and Flanders
produced embroidered vestments of a similar style, their quality rarely
matched the fine work which came out of the ateliers of London and
East Anglia.
The ground for most of these embroiderers was twill-weave, silk-lined
w iih linen. Velvet was used from the early 14th century instead of linen.
Other grounds used included samit, taffeta, camoca (a combination of
fi le camel hair and silk) and, from the 14th century, satin. Some of the
most common Opus Anglicanum stitches include Opus conscutum -
applique, Opus phrygium - gold work. Opus anglicanum stitch - split
Border motif from vestments of St Thomas
of Canterbury c.1200-50.
Embroidery
stitch, and Opus pectineum - woven or combed work.
Inventories and accounts from the Vatican are a valuable soiirce of
information on Opus Anglicanum, for it was favourite with man} Popes
and the bulk of Vatican embroideries of this time were of this kind Many
of the best examples of this work are ecclesiastical vestments and one of
the finest copes now remaining is the Syon Cope in the Victoria and
Albert Museum. A study of the copes of the whole medieval period has
revealed that there were three distinct periods in the evolution of Opus
Anglicanum.
The earliest period is from 1250 to 1275 and the principal features of
the designs are saints or Biblical events enclosed by a medallion. Group-
ings are arranged in concentric circles. Few examples of this period now
survive.
The second period is from 1275 to about 1325 and the Syon Cope was
made at this time. Rather than being confined by circles, the figures and
scenes in the design are ringed by Romanesque quatrefoils sometimes
interlaced. Another surviving cope of this period is the Daroca Cope in
the Museo Arqueologico, Madrid.
The last period occupies the remainder of the 14th century. Figures
now stand under Gothic arches and the scenes are separated by cc lumns.
The finest Opus Anglicanum comes from this period.
Chasubles have also survived and a typical example in the Victoria
and Albert Museum is in red brocade with scenes from the life o “Christ
with saints standing under Gothic arches. Mitres were embroicered in
Opus Anglicanum though only fragments have survived, such as the
remains of one belonging to Bishop William of Wykeham (1367 -1404),
now in New College, Oxford. The embroidery used both silvei thread
and gems.
The Victoria and Albert Museum also has an altar frontal fiom the
late 14th century. Worked on a ground of crimson velvet, the fig ires are
appliqued in gold, silver and coloured thread and surround the cruci-
fixion scene. Palls have survived in greater numbers, many of which are
in the possession of London livery companies such as the Vintn :rs\ the
Saddlers’ and the Fishmongers’ Companies.
The quality of Opus Anglicanum work began to decline during the
15th century, although a magnificent pall belonging to the Fishmongers’
Company which, it seems, could not have been made before 1 536, has
suggested to some experts that the age of Opus Anglicanum might be
extended by a hundred years.
Although the emphasis in 14th and 15th century Europe was on
ecclesiastical embroidery, there was at the same time a growing use of
domestic embroidery. Woven tapestries, for example, were
portance in furnishing the draughty castles and houses of the rich, and
embroidered bed hangings were also invaluable in the cold wmters of
northern Europe.
There was an increasing use of embroidery for costume and personal
adornment. Much of this, whether it took the form of fine linefi under-
garments or the embroidered and bejewelled purses for which
was famous in the 15th and 16th centuries, was done domestically as
well as by professional and religious embroiderers.
i has been used by men for tools and weapons for hundreds of
inds of years. Man made knives, axes and spears in great quantities.
heads were expendable and were produced in particularly large
^ers and, consequently, are still readily available at quite reasonable
Generally speaking, the earlier ones are cruder and lack finish,
while those of the Neolithic period are polished and well shaped. Many
arc barbed and most have a short neck which was used to secure the
head to the wood or reed shaft. Main primitive cultures continued to
manufacture arrow heads of Hint long after metal had replaced its use
for other weapons. Some Red Indians of North America and the
Abdrigines of Australia were still making them at the beginning of this
centur\
Flint is brittle and is unsuitable for constructing long blades, so swords
of Hint were not practical. When man discovered the secret ol melting
tin nd copper together to make bronze he was able to cast a greater
varie y of weapons in moulds of clay or stone. Axeheads. daggers,
aire ws and spear heads and swords were produced all over Europe and
sufficient have survived to ensure that some still appear on the market:
swords are likely to be the rarest and most expensive. Many of the
bronzes available today are from Luristan in Asia Minor, and are
generally of good quality although unfortunately a number of very good
copies have begun to appear so care when buying is essential.
By the 1st century A.D. iron had largely supplanted bronze as the
metal for weapons. While iron was better for manufacture it was fjar less
able to survive the centuries. Bronze could resist rust and rot, ironl could
not and swords dating from the 1st century until the 15th century are
extremely rare and very early examples are likely to be little morje than
masses of blackened rust. The few good quality examples whic|i have
survived will certainly be very expensive.
Probably one of the most ancient of all edged weapons was the g
or guisarme which receives frequent mention from the 12th
17th century in Europe and was a form of long-headed axe thjat ter-
minated in a sharp, strong point. A little way down the blade a flattened
hook projected. In medieval times it was known as a fauchard
towards the end of the 15th century it is possible that the term “gisarme’
was used to describe the halberd.
The halberd seems to have been of Swiss origin and the first mention
of it occurs in 1287, although it was not introduced into Fran
England until the end of the 14th century. It appeared in various:
as basically an axe-blade surmounted by a spike and balanced by
a si 6rt fluke at the rear of the blade. By the end of the 15th century the
blade had undergone several changes through oblong and horizontally
wit er to crescent-shaped on some examples.
1 lie great age of the pike began in the late 15th century and lasted until
the 17th century. A simple weapon, the pike consists of a long, narrow,
lanpe-like head of steel with lengths of metal running from the head
down the pole to protect the latter from sword strikes. At the other end
of he pole an iron shoe or point protected the pole base when it was
stu k in the ground to resist cavalry attacks. Other edged staff weapons
in Use in the 15th century included the partisan - usually a long double-
edged blade, wide at the base where it was provided with projections of
various kinds. The Ranseur and the Spetum were variations on the
par isan.
1 he Voulge was very similar to the gisarme and originated in Switzer-
lan The Bill was one of the commonest weapons of the foot-soldier and
wa; derived from the agricultural scythe and so had a crescent-shaped
heal the inside of which was sharpened while a section of the top of the
blade was double-edged. Variants often had the top of the blade dividing
into a spike and forward curved hook. The Bill was particularly popular
in England. The Glaive had the cutting edge on the opposite side to that
on he Bill and had hooks and spurs near the base of the blade.
Until the first half of the 15th century the lance was simply a wooden
staff some 3-4.25 metres (13-14 ft) long, fitted with a lozenge- or leaf-
shaped blade. During the 14th century jousting lances began to be fitted
wit l a circular hand-guard or vanplatc.
Generally the medieval sword had a long, straight blade, usually
doi $le-edged, fitted with a simple cruciform cross guard, a leather
co\ ejred grip and a counter-balance weight (the pommel) at the end of
the grip. These swords were essentially slashing weapons designed to
ha< k at armour and mail and some were made big enough to be gripped
with two hands. One, known as a hand-and-half, was small enough to
be (ised in one hand but with a grip big enough to hold with both hands
to deliver a very powerful blow. A larger version, the two-handed sword,
was so large that it could only be used with a two-handed grip.
Very few swords and daggers dating from the 12th—15th centuries
ap ear on the market, but those dating from the 16th century onwards
are more readily available.
It is not surprising that the Renaissance, which was in part a revival of
clas jjcal culture, had its origins in Italy, the heart of the old Roman
Empire. Since the new movement represented a change in human
attitudes towards the world it made its first appearance in literature and
then spread to architecture, sculpture and painting, from where it in-
fluenced all the decorative arts. The Italian Renaissance is divided into
threjeperiods: Early, 1400-1500; High, 1500-40; and Late, 1540-1600.
Throughout the 15th century a spirit of research which accompanied
the new reflections on the world, led to the rediscovery of classical
worp of literature and the excavations of the archeological remains of
the Roman Empire. With every new discovery the artist was provided
witl further inspiration and stimulus to advance the state of his art to
ever greater heights. Of particular importance was the rediscovery of
Dc Architectura, which were the manuscripts of the Roman architect
Vitruvius who worked in the reign ol Augustus, and the exca\ation of
the Baths of Titus and the Golden Home of Nero in Rome in 1488.
In! 1485 Leon Battista Alberti published his Ten Books on Architecture
(De\te aedificatoria) which was a masterly synthesis of Vitruvius’
principles and much original material by Alberti himself. He advocated
a system of ideal proportions in architectural design, believing that the
ation of mathematical ratios to building was in itself beauty-
cing. Alberti thus made a significant break with all his predecessors
e visible result was a clean, dignified and stately style in which the
tion was primarily columns and pilasters.