Copyright 1985 Sara Ince Hamilton
ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING THREAD CONSTRUCTION AND STITCH TECHNIQUES IN HISTORIC SILK AND
METAL THREAD EMBROIDERIES FOR MUSEUMS
by
SARA INCE HAMILTON, B.A.
À THESIS IN
MUSEUM SCIENCE
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS
Approved
Accepted
December, 1985
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am deeply indebted to the Office of Fellowships and Grants, Smithsonian Institution, for providing the opportunity to research this paper, and to Doris Bowman and Katherine Dirks, Division of Textiles, National Muséum of American History, as well as to Dr. Les- lie C. Drew, Department of Muséum Science, Dr. Nancy B. Reed, Depart- ment of Art, and Betty J. Mills, Curator of Costumes and Textiles, Texas Tech University and Dr. Mary Lynne Richards, Department of Clothing, Textiles, and Merchandising, Oklahoma State University, for their coopération, expert advice, and assistance.
1 1
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS iv
I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. LABORATORY ANALYSIS 4
Fabrics 4 Thread Construction 11
III. STITCH TECHNIQUES 20
Silk Work 20 Métal Thread Techniques 27
IV. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 51 Identification of Figures 51
Identification of Architectural Eléments and Motifs
in Médiéval and Renaissance Embroideries 56
Period and Country Attribution 56
V. CONCLUSION 59 BIBLIOGRAPHY 60 APPENDICES
A. GLOSSARY 64 B. SAINTS AND THEIR ATTRIBUTES 75
C. SAMPLES OF EMBROIDERY ANALYSES FROM THE DIVI-
SION OF TEXTILES, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 79
1 1 1
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig.
F i g . F i g . F i g . F i g . F i g . F i g . F i g . F i g . F i g .
4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10.
1 1 . 1 2 . 1 3 . Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig. 20 Fig. 21
Satin appliqué on red velvet ground. 6 Fibers, left to right: linen, cotton, silk, and
wool 8 Types of weaves, clockwise from upper left: plain,
basket, satin, and twill. 10 S-twisted and Z-twisted threads. 12
Gilt plate. - 14 From top to bottom: flat plate, rococco, flat silk,
and passing thread, 15 Gilt twist: 2-strand, Z-twist. 16
Soft purls, left to right: smooth, matte, and
check. 17 Sequins with half slit. 19
Horizontal split stitch shading. 21 Silk techniques: a) split stitch, b) brick stitch,
and c) satin stitch. 22 French knot shading. 24 Catalog #T19328, Division of Textiles, Smith-
sonian Institution. 26 Passing thread couched, two strands per row, in
the brick pattern. 28 Or nue technique. 29 Or nue shading. 30 Or nue panel with superimposed roundel border. 31
Italian shading. 32 St. Lucy apparel. 33 Zigzag pattern couching. 34
Underside couching, with darker thread being the couching thread: a) work from the surface, b) stitch being taken, c) a side view, and d) work from the
back. 36
IV
Fig. 22. Four-strand basket weave burden technique. 37 Fig. 23. Padded laid work in a brick-and-bar pattern. 39 Fig. 24. Padded laid work in a brick-and-cable pattern. 39 Fig. 25. Two strands per row, with interlocking couching
stitches. 40 Fig. 26. Passing threads couched back and forth across a
cardboard template, and rococco couched in loops,
two strands per row. 42 Fig. 27. Use of pearl purl. 43 Fig. 28. Use of soft purls. 45 Fig. 29. Flat plate couched to provide shading with "scanty
split stitch." 46 Fig. 30. Flat plate twined with passing thread and couched. 47
Fig, 31. Plate couched back and forth over heavy padding. 48
Fig. 32. Gilt galloon. 50 Fig. 33. St. Augustine and the Christ Child. 54
Fig. 34. St. Peter/Christ figure. 55 Fig. 35. God the Father figure. 55 Fig. 36. Sleeve apparel #L6138b and hem apparel #7087
from the Smithsonian collection. 67 Fig. 37. Chasuble shapes from Roman times to the présent. 69
Fig. 38. Cope styles. 70 Fig. 39. Mitres from the eleventh century to the présent. 72
Fig. 40. Attributes of St. Augustine. 77 Fig. 41. Red velvet hem apparel #L6137a. 80 Fig. 42. St. Peter orphrey band panel #L6139a. 83
Fig. 43. Red velvet cross orphrey #E286485 and détail. 87
Fig, 44. Ivory silk frontal #E366761. 90 Fig. 45. St. Francis médaillon #E366764a. 93
V
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
Shortly after man began to clothe himself he began to decorate his body coverings with ornamentation and surface embellishment.
This embellishment developed into an art form—embroidery—which
many believe reached its zénith in silk and métal thread embroideries Many muséums hâve in their textile collections examples of this type
of embroidery. Unfortunately, there are few if any curators who are expert in this relatively specialized and complex médium. Therefore, there is a need in thèse muséums for a manual that will help textile curators and keepers of paraments properly to evaluate their col- lections. The purpose of this paper is to delineate methods for analyzing and describing the threads and techniques used in silk and métal thread embroideries. Thèse methods hâve been developed and re-
fined over the past nine years.
My interest in studying historic embroideries was first aroused in 1976 when I was asked by Mrs. Hinson, head of the Altar Guild of Washington Cathedral, to catalog and properly store the cathedral's collection of original paraments. She chose me for the task because of my réputation as an artist and teacher of silk and métal thread embroidery. Since I was certified by the Embroiderers' Guild of America as a teacher of this type of embroidery, she knew I was knowledgeable about the threads and techniques employed, and qual- ified to describe the work and materials.
^The Embroiderers' Guild of America is an organization of approximately 30,000 members, with chapters across the United
States. Teacher certification consists of a séries of five written and practical examinations in one's field, taken during a year's time. There are at présent only four teachers in the United States certified by the Guild to teach silk and métal thread embroidery.
Of those, only the author has an art history and muséum science background.
In the nine years following 1976, my research on historic
silk and métal thread embroideries has taken me to many muséums and cathedrals in this country and abroad to study hundreds of embroider- les in collections and exhibitions. Few of the embroideries studied 2 were properly analyzed and catalogued, Many of the catalog cards or exhibit labels contained misinformation concerning threads and tech- niques, This is hardly surprising since those who wrote the cards
and labels were not ordinarily experts in dealing with silk and métal threads and techniques. This problem is further exacerbated in that even Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles contains few of the terms 3 used in silk and métal thread embroidery. This does not, of course, mean the threads and techniques do not exist, only that much of the
textile community is ignorant of them.
My théories as to how historic silk and métal thread embroider- ies should be evaluated, classified, and catalogued were merely that—
théories—until a Smithsonian grant made it possible for me to put them into practice. Under the conditions of the grant, research was carried out in the Division of Textiles, National Museiom of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The collection of ecclesiastical embroideries was chosen for study, and of the approximately forty-five such pièces owned by the Division, twenty-six were selected for analysis. The twenty-six
2 I hâve been privileged to study the collections of the following:
Metropolitan Muséum of Art, Boston Muséum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Muséum of Art, Victoria and Albert Muséum, Cooper-Hewitt (New York), Dumbarton Oaks (Washington, D . C ) , Winterthur, Witte Muséum (San Antonio), Textile Muséum (Washington, D . C ) , Vatican Library and the Museo Cristiano (Vatican City), Museo degli Argenti (Pitti Palace,
Florence), Bargello (Florence), Duomo muséums in Florence, Pienza, Siena, Orvieto, and Bologna, and the Textile Muséum (Prato) as well as the Washington Cathedral and the National Muséum of American History
•^Isabel Wingate, Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, 6th éd., (New York: Fairchild, 1979).
pièces were selected because they represent as great a time span as possible and presented the most difficulties in classification for the Division staff, There was little or no available information about artist or origin; there was a great variety of threads, tech- niques, and fabrics; or there were questions regarding figure identi-
fication.
Proper identification of materials and techniques often provides d u e s as to an embroidery's period and place of origin. Laboratory work comprised the first part of the research. Fabrics were examined
to détermine fiber content, type of weave, and thread count. Construc- tion, mending, and embroidery threads were analyzed to ascertain
fiber content and method of construction. Next, the embroideries were examined to détermine how the threads had been combined in
stitches and techniques to embellish the ground fabrics. Figures then had to be identified, and thèmes and motifs described. Finally,
comparison studies were made of other embroideries through the média of painting, sculpture, and published photographs of examples to
détermine the style, and hence, the period, in which the embroideries were most likely to hâve been executed. This last was necessary as
there is no définitive documentary évidence for any of the objects, most of which entered the collection in the early years of the
twentieth century.
Appendix A contains a glossary defining spécifie terms used for items in a collection of paraments, and terms useful in describing Médiéval and Renaissance architectural forms. Appendix B is a listing of the most commonly encountered saints and their attributes. Finally, sample analyses of ecclesiastical embroideries in the Smithsonian
collection are included as a guide to the researcher in Appendix C.
CHAPTER II
LABORATORY ANALYSIS Fabrics
Woven fabrics comprise the grounds on which the embroidered embellishment is worked, The fabrics include grounds, backgrounds, appliques, linings, facings, and patches. The ground fabric is that on which the embroidery rests, and is that which is visible unless the entire textile is covered with stitchery. If the ground is meant to be visible, it is usually a rich fabric, probably made of
silk. Types of silks include satin, brocade, damask, velvet, plain weave broadcloth, and repp. If the ground is to be completely covered by stitchery, it is usually an even weave natural colored linen. Ail 4 of the embroideries in this study were worked using a background
fabric. This fabric is the one which is stretched on a frame, bearing the weight of the embroidery. It is usually a linen plain weave.
The embroidery is, then, worked through both background and ground fabrics as if they were one fabric. If the ground is a délicate fabric, as it often is, then the background strengthens it.
An applique fabric is one that is applied on top of the ground fabric in shapes intended to enhance the design composition. It is most often used when a différent color or texture is desired as an
embroidery ground, or when a linen of higher thread count is desired for brick stitch silk work. Occasionally, the appliqué fabric is embroidered before being attached to the ground; at other times, the embroidery is worked through ail three layers—appliqué, ground, and
In embroidery terminology, even weave is a plain weave fabric in which there are the same number of warp and weft threads per
square inch. This quality is an important factor in working counted thread techniques.
background - as in the sixteenth-century St. Mark apparel in the Smithsonian collection (Fig. 1 ) , Linings, facings, and patches can be made of silk, linen, or cotton, There is often évidence that several linings hâve been applied to an embroidery. Métal thread embroideries were frequently pasted on the back after the embroidery was completed. This secured the ends of the threads and stuck the
lining to the background. In this case, still another lining was occasionally attached. Patches are common in ancient textiles and are themselves évidence of past repairs and rearrangement of embroi- dery panels, Thus, care should be taken to note them as well as the original fabrics. Facings, if they exist, can offer a d u e as to the shape or style of the original garment or the way in which an embroidered panel was attached to the garment.
Fiber Content
The first step in a laboratory analysis is to détermine the fiber content of the fabrics used in the textile ground, background, applique, linings, facings, and patches. There are many methods of testing for fiber content: burning, dissolving in various liquid compounds, and microscopic analysis. The last uses the smallest amount of fiber and is preferred over the others.
For microscopic analysis, only a tiny pièce of fiber is needed and this can generally be taken from a loose seam edge or from the edge of a worn spot or tear. Sharp, pointed scissors and a pair of pointed tweezers are necessary in order to remove the fibers without damaging the textile. The sample is placed on a glass slide and the fibers are pulled apart and fluffed so that identification will be easier. A small drop of refraction liquid, such as Curyille Refrac-
Catalog //L6137a. Either Italian or Spanish, this apparel is part of a set of four, each with one of the four evangelists in a central médaillon. Four narrower apparels, //L6138a-d, probably for use of sleeve hems, match the set.
Fig. 1. Satin applique on red velvet ground,
tion Liquid #1.56-1.59, is applied to the fibers; a cover glass is then placed on top, The slide is placed under a polarizing micro- scope such as a Zeiss Standard Research Polarizing Microscope,
Natural fibers were, of course, the only ones available until after the middle of the nineteenth century and thus are the major éléments in historic silk and métal thread embroideries, Even after the advent of synthetic fibers, few were used in fine embroideries until the twentieth century. For this reason, this study will con- centrate on the identification of natural fibers though synthetic fibers may occasionally be found in mending threads or patches.
Linen and cotton are cellulosic fibers while silk and wool are protein fibers. Silk is the only natural filament, the others are staple length fibers. For simplification, ail will be referred to as fibers in this study.
Linen fibers, in a longitudinal view under magnification, re- semble stalks of bamboo in that they hâve nodes at the irregular joints. Occasionally, striâtions in the lengthwise direction can be noticed. Cotton fibers appear convoluted with a ribbonlike shape.
The convolutions occur at irregular intervais. Cotton that has been mercerized is more difficult to identify since the mercerization
process flattens some of the twists and the convolutions are not as apparent. The mercerization process was not perfected for gênerai
g use until 1889 so mercerized cotton threads post-date that period.
Refraction liquid rather than water is used since it is not absorbed by the fibers, particularly cotton, thus doesn't distort the fiber by swelling it.
'^M.L. Joseph, Essentials of Textiles, (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1984). Chapters 9, 10, and 11 are particularly help- ful in identifying synthetic fibers.
Ibid., p. 248.
8 Silk looks like smooth rods under magnification and the thickness of the rods varies along the length of the fiber. Silk weighted
with metallic salts is more difficult to identify. However the appear- ance of the fabric itself is a good indication. Since weighting is intended to make soft fabrics heavier and stiffer, the hand of the fabric—the way it feels—and the brittleness of the silk itself
9
will indicate weighted silk to the researcher. Silk is not to be confused with synthetic fibers which under magnification are of a uniform thickness and usually hâve striations in the lengthwise direc- tion. Wool fibers hâve the appearance of scales, though some dyes make the scales less obvious (Fig. 2 ) .
Fig. 2. Fibers, left to right: linen, cotton, silk, and wool.
Fabric Construction
Under a stereomicroscope, or with a good magnifying glass, one can examine the structure of the fabric. The color, type of weave.
Joseph, p. 259.
and the thread count must be noted. The most common types of weaves used in historic silk and métal thread embroideries are plain, satin, repp, twill, and damask. In a woven fabric, warp yarns run vertical- ly or parallel to the woven edges known as selvedges, Weft yarns are then interwoven among them in the horizontal direction. It is the séquence in which the weft yarns pass over and under the warp yarns that détermines the type of weave.
Plain weave is the simplest type of fabric structure. The weft yarns pass over-one, under-one, to form the fabric. In the second row, the weft passes over and under the opposite threads, and con-
tinues in this manner. One variation of the plain weave is the basket weave, in which two weft yarns pass over-two, under-two, to form a distinctive patterned weave. Another variation is the ribbed weave or repp. In this plain weave, the weft yarns are thicker than the warp yarns giving a horizontal ribbed effect on the surface.
Float weaves are similar to plain weaves in that they hâve warp and weft yarns. However, the séquence of interweaving is not balanced as it is in a plain weave for the weft passes over or under several warp yarns at a time. Twill is one type of float weave and is usually
found in linen or wool fabrics. The weft yarn may pass over-two, under-one; then, in the next row, it will move to the right or left one warp yarn and repeat the séquence. The resuit is a diagonal
wale, or line, that is characteristic of twill weaves. Another float weave frequently found in historic silk and métal thread embroideries
is the satin weave, which is especially used in silk fabrics. In this weave, the weft passes over-one, under-four (or more), causing the warp yarns to float on top of the weft (Fig. 3 ) .
Velvet is a ground fabric often found in Renaissance and Baroque silk and métal thread embroideries. This fabric has a supplementary
Joseph, pp. 191-206.
^^Occasionally, thèse heavier velvet ground fabrics are embroi- dered without being backed by a background support fabric.
10
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set of yarns in addition to the warp and weft yarns. The weave can be either plain weave or twill weave, and extra warp yarns are insert- ed as filling. Wilson notes that ninth-century examples hâve been found in France, but adds that the first velvets were probably made in Persia or Italy. She further states that velvets were not in com- mon use much before the fourteenth century and were highly prized during the Renaissance. Damask is a combination of twill and satin 12 weaves, and is réversible because the design having warp floats on one surface must hâve the same number of weft floats on the other.
^^Kax Wilson, A History of Textiles, (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1979), pp. 68-69.
11 Thread Count
The thread count détermines the number of warp and weft yarns in a square inch of fabric. The warp yarns are cited first. If there is a selvedge to be found on the fabric, the warp yarns will be those running parallel to it. If there is no apparent selvedge,
the yarns running parallel to the vertical length of the textile are assumed to be the warp and are cited thusly: a natural linen plain weave, 64 x 52 threads per inch,
Thread counters with a magnifying glass and screw-type counter are commercially available. The counter is placed on top of the fabric and the attached magnifier enables the researcher to observe the individual threads well enough so that he can move the pointer attached to the screw device along the bar marked off in quarter- inch divisions. It is, of course, simpler to count the number of threads in a quarter-inch space and multiply by four.
Thread Construction Cellulosic and Protein Fiber Threads
An examination of threads to détermine their structure is en- hanced by using a microscope such as a Bausch and Lomb Stereomicro-
scope. If a sample of yarn is available in a seam area, it can be removed using the scissors and tweezers employed to remove the fiber sample. Less than half an inch is ample. If a free end cannot be found, it is sometimes possible to place the entire embroidery un- der magnification to détermine the thread construction with ail threads intact.
Silk fibers are the only ones that are used flat, or unspun.
In historic textiles, the silk threads are often used in this form.
^^Dan River Dictionary of Textile Terms, (New York: Dan River, 1980), s.v. "Thread" and "Yarn." Staple length fibers must be
twisted or spun into yarns or threads in order to be used for sewing.
12 especially for silk embroidery techniques and métal thread couching.
Under the microscope, the filaments lie side by side with no notice- able twist, The filaments are combined in fine strands to work faces and hands, or occasionally, in thicker strands, to work a garment area or to lay backgrounds.
Linen, cotton, and wool fibers must be spun or twisted to make a yarn or thread. When two or more of thèse single yarns are twist- ed together, they are called plies. The number of plies in a yarn, as well as the direction in which they are spun, must be noted. The notation is written: 2-ply, S-twist (Fig, 4 ) .
14
Fig. 4. S-twisted and Z-twisted threads.
If two or more of thèse plied yarns are then twisted together, a cord is formed. It is noted in this manner: 6-ply (3/2), Z-twist, which means that three two-ply yarns hâve been twisted together.
^"^Flat embroidery silks are obtainable today from Japan. They can be divided into extremely fine filaments and can be useful in doing some types of needlework conservation.
13 Silk and métal thread embroidery threads, as well as ail examples of construction and mending threads, must be identified in this way.
Fiber content and thread construction can help date the original embroidery or any additional mends or repairs to the textile. For example, 6-ply (3/2) cotton threads were not in gênerai use before
1860.
Métal Threads
The most commonly used metallic thread in Western embroidery is that known as passing thread. It consists of a fiber core, us- ually silk but occasionally linen, around which is wrapped a flat- tened strip of wire or a lamella known as plate. In ancient
times, the métal, usually gold, was beaten flat and cut into strips as mentioned in the Bible. Later, wire was made by a man drawing 16 the métal through successively smaller holes in a die thus produc- ing short lengths of plate. Pure gold and silver threads were manufactured, though gold-plated silver, copper, or tin threads were more common (Fig. 5 ) .
Webster defines a lamella as a thin, platelike élément, and the term is used in this way in an interesting article concerning passing thread lamellae. The article is by Hoke and Petrascheck- Heim in Studies in Conservation 22 (1977) and the authors report making microprobe analyses of the metals in médiéval textiles to détermine where the pièces originated, either in Europe or in the Orient. The authors fail to take into account, however, the possi- bility that the embroidery could hâve been executed in Europe with threads imported from the Orient. Also, European gold could hâve reached the Orient as a médium of exchange, been melted down, and used in Oriental embroideries; or even sent back to Europe in the form of threads giving European gold. Oriental thread manufacture, and European embroidery with the same métal.
^^Ex. 39: 1-3. "And of the blue and purple and scarlet stuff they made finely wrought garments for Aaron; as the Lord had command- ed Moses. And he made the Ephod of gold, blue, and purple and scar-
^^Encyclopedia Britannica, 1973 éd., s.v. "Wire."
14
Fig. 5. Gilt plate.
Rococco is passing thread which has been crimped either manual- ly or by machine. It gives a more glittery effect than passing thread but tarnishes more readily.
It is necessary to count the number of wraps per inch for both passing thread and rococco. This is most easily done by laying the embroidery under the stereomicroscope and superimposing on the threads a card marked off in eights per inch. The wraps can then be counted between the marks and multiplied by eight to calculate the number of wraps per inch and noted in this way: gilt passing thread, 54 wraps per inch (Fig. 6 ) .
Passing thread is also used to form the plies of twists and
let stuff, and intothe fine twined linen, in skilled design." (RSV)
15
Fig. 6. From top to bottom: flat plate, rococco, flat silk, and passing thread.
cords. A twist is two or more strands of passing thread twisted together and is noted this way: 2-strand, Z-twist (Fig. 7). A cord is composed of two or more twists and is noted this way: 6-strand
(3/2), Z-twist. One may also encounter braids which are round (tubular) or flat. As thèse may be quite broad, it is sufficient to designate the type of thread composing each braid.
Plate is, as mentioned previously, the flat strip of métal used to wrap thread having fiber cores. It may also be used alone
(Fig. 5 ) . Plate is usually made of a plated métal such as gilded silver. Its flat surface makes it particularly susceptible to nicks and abrasions so that often the foundation métal is most
apparent and one must look carefully in the hollows caused by couch- ing threads in order to discern the surface métal. The microscope
16
Fig. 7. Gilt twist: 2-strand, Z-twist.
is, of course, necessary for this détermination, as it is for mea- suring the width of the plate which is noted this way: gilt plate, 1/40" wide.
Bullions or purls—the terms are interchangeable—are hollow
"threads." Thèse are constructed by wrapping wire or plate around long needles which are then withdrawn. The needles are either 18 round or triangular which affects the size and shape of the bullion.
Pearl purl, also called jaceron by the French, is a stiff, heavy coil of wire having the appearance of a string of beads when applied
1 g
Currently, bullions with the heaviest plating are produced in England; lighter threads are made in France and Spain. Soft purls come in lengths as long as one yard; pearl purls in lengths up to three yards, hence, "needles" of those lengths.
17 to an embroidery. It is the heaviest of the bullions. The flexible, lighter hollow threads are soft bullions.
Smooth purl, sometimes called shine, is a strip of flat plate wound around a round needle and has an extremely shiny appearance.
Rough purl, or matte, is a strip of round wire wound around a round needle and has a dull, matte finish. Check purl, or friezé, is a
strip of flat plate wound around a triangular needle and has a glittery appearance (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8. Soft purls, left to right: smooth, matte, and check.
According to my observations, bullions seem to hâve been in limited use in ecclesiastical embroideries during the Middle Ages.
Certainly the many pièces of English médiéval embroidery were devoid of such threads. A fine Italian example from the late Middle Ages
18 in which silver purl was used to outline halos is the Cambi frontal made for Santa Maria Novella in Florence in 1336. In Renaissance
and Baroque embroideries, bullions were used more and more liberally, Examples are the sixteenth-century dalmatic apparel with the figure
19 20 of St. Lucy and the eighteenth-century monstrance cover with
the figure of St, Dominic. Both are in the Smithsonian collection.
While sequins, or spangles, are not truly threads they are us- ually noted along with the métal threads. Originally, they were simply métal rings sewn to the ground fabric with two stitches as in the seventeenth-century English burse which is in the Victoria and Albert Muséum collection, Subsequently, thèse rings were ham-21 mered flat to form sequins with a slit in one side as in the seven-
teenth-century French cross orphrey in the Smithsonian collection 22 (Fig, 9 ) ,
Western embroideries dating from the middle of the nineteenth century may contain a thread known as Japanese métal. Leaf gold is applied to rice or tissue paper which is then cut into strips and wound around a silk core in the same manner as passing thread.
Thèse threads are very fragile thus great care must be taken when handling examples of this type of métal thread embroidery.
Catalog #6838. This Italian or Spanish pièce includes ail three types of soft bullions with the matte purl in two différent sizes. They are cut into bits to lay over twist and in the half- inch lengths over padding to fill solid areas.
^^Catalog #T19328. Silver bullions are used throughout this work.
^^Catalog #T166-1966. An interesting fragment on a red velvet ground, this embroidery is embellished with figures of seraphim and two-headed eagles.
^^Catalog #E286485. The silver sequins occur in four différ- ent sizes in this embroidery and are used most effectively as points of interest in the design program.
19
Fig. 9. Sequins with half slit.
CHAPTER III STITCH TECHNIQUES
Silk Work Split Stitch
It is my observation that the silk work technique most often used in historic silk and métal thread embroideries made in Western Europe is the split stitch, It was usually employed in areas where shading was required. It could be worked either in adjacent parallel lines following the shape of the design élément, or in horizontal 23 rows, This technique is often referred to as "long and short
stitch." More suitably it is noted as horizontal split stitch 24 shading (Fig. 10).
The split stitch was used in adjacent parallel lines in the figure work of the famous "opus Anglicanum" embroideries from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in England. Examples of this English work are the Syon Cope in the Victoria and Albert Muséum
23
There seems to be no spécifie stitch technique name for this method, though it was the silk technique most employed in médiéval
silk and métal thread embroideries. The proper désignation for an analysis would be: split stitch shading worked in adjacent par- allel lines.
9 /
"Long and short" is a misnomer, for the shading was most of- ten executed in a painterly fashion without regard to spécifie rows.
Even when it was worked in rows, only the first and last stitches were truly of différent lengths. The technique is also referred to
as "soft shading" which is more appropriate, but it could still re- fer to various kinds of shading. "Horizontal split stitch shading"
is the author's désignation as it more clearly notes both the stitch employed and the direction in which it progresses. Anastasia Dolby called it simply "long-stitch embroidery." Dolby, Church Embroidery,
(London: Chapman and Hall, 1867). As with ail thèse ancient terms, the names vary with passing time and when used by différent embroi- derers.
20
21
Fig. 10. Horizontal split stitch shading.
collection, the Pienza Cope in the Museo del Opéra del Duomo in
Pienza, Italy, and the Chichester-Constable Chasuble in the Metropol- itan Muséum of Art in New York. Horizontal split stitch shading became more common in the sixteenth century and afterwards and was often used to shade floral motifs as in the seventeenth-century Italian chasuble back in the Smithsonian collection. 25
To work this stitch a needle is threaded with either flat or twisted silk and a straight stitch is taken. The second stitch
splits the first from the underside approximately half-way along the length of the straight stitch and continues forward (Fig. lia).
The stitch can procède in any direction.
^^Catalog //T15068. The embroidery on this textile is extreme- ly well-executed and the shading is subtle and naturalistic.
22
Fig. 11. Silk techniques: a) split stitch, b) brick stitch, and c) satin stitch.
Brick Stitch
The brick stitch was used in Renaissance embroideries primar- ily in flesh and garment areas. The work proceeds by rows, the silk threads being carried over at least two weft yarns in a counted-
thread manner (Fig. 11b). In an analysis, the direction of the silk threads in relation to the textile ground fabric must be noted in this manner: a brick stitch worked vertically using the weft yarns of the ground as foundation guidelines. This stitch differs from horizontal split stitch shading in that the silk stitches do not split one another, but are worked in a brick pattern. Many examples
23 of this technique exist in the Smithsonian collection. Most notable are the orphrey î>anel fragments from fifteenth-century Italy depict- ing saints in niches, and the orphrey band from sixteenth-century 26 Italy depicting the figures of St. Paul, St, Sébastian, and St, Augustine in médaillons. 27
Satin Stitch
In my studies I hâve found this stitch used sparingly in médi- éval embroideries but much more frequently in Renaissance and Baroque times, It is a method of covering a small design area with a single hue. The stitches lie side by side to fill a shape. The back will
look much the same as the front of the work since the stitches al- ways come up on the same side of the design and go down on the op- posite side thus covering the back as well as the surface of the embroidery (Fig. lie).
Couching
Simply stated, couching is a technique in which one thread is laid on the surface of a ground fabric and another thread is stitch- ed across it to hold it in place. In this simple form, heavy out- line threads, or groups of threads, are couched with finer threads.
The technique was frequently used to hide the stitches by which an appliqué was attached as in the sixteenth-century roundel orphrey band^^ in the Smithsonian showing St. Lucy, St. Agatha, the Madonna and Child, and St. Mary Magdalene in roundels.
^^Catalog #L6139a-c. Thèse panels are worked in rather abrupt shading in hues of strong intensity. Flesh areas are worked in one value.
27 Catalog #L6140b.
^^Catalog #L6832. A heavy twist of red silk wrapped with gilt passing thread is couched with fine red silk to outline the roundels encloslng the half-length figures.
24 Laid Work
Laid work most often involves both laying threads and couching them in position. It was used to cover large areas such as floors and backgrounds. Frequently, long swathes of filament silk threads were laid in one direction, then held in place by occasional finer
strands laid over them at right angles and couched in place by very fine strands. If thèse couched threads were métal threads, the
technique is identified as "Italian laid work," One example in the 29 Smithsonian collection of this technique is the floor of the fif- teenth-century orphrey panel fragment showing the figure of St. 30 Peter standing in a niche. Another fine example is the sixteenth- century Italian roundel orphrey in the Victoria and Albert Muséum collection,
Knot Stitches
I hâve found that the most common knot stitch in Western embroi- dery is that known as the French knot. The single wrap of the thread around the needle produces a tight, rounded knot. The stitch, when scattered through an area, provides pattern; when closely packed, resembles shading. This technique is similar to the ninteenth-
century painting technique known as pointillism (Fig. 12). French knot shading provides the only silk technique on the extraordinary eighteenth-century monstrance cover in the Smithsonian collection. 31
29
This is the désignation given the technique by Lucy Mackrille of Washington Cathedral and is found occasionally in Victorian-
era needlework books. Today, the term is considered ambiguous and a more précise désignation would be: vertically laid silk ground with passing threads laid and couched horizontally one-eighth inch apart.
•^^Catalog #L6139a.
•^^Catalog #119328. The embroidery is extraordinary because of the sheer number of French knots. Thousands of tiny, uniform knots are closely packed and the shading is fairly subtle. The front of
25
•"•• - '!-^.%M
-m '€
Fig. 12. French knot shading.
The embroidery depicts St. Dominic receiving the rosary from the Virgin (Fig. 13).
An uncommon variation of the French knot is the knot made with a tightly twisted and looped silk thread. This technique is found on the fourteenth-century angel orphrey bands in the Victoria and Albert Muséum collection, and the fifteenth-century orphrey band
32
fragment depicting St. James the Greater, which is in the Smithson- ian collection. In both embroideries, the looped knot is used in
the embroidery has pale values; however, the reverse side, unaffected by light and soil, shows that the original hues were more intense and livelv.
32 Catalog #L7251.01
26
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27 the hair of the figures. This technique was "rediscovered" by Lucy Vaughn Haydn Mackrille, who called it the "wool stitch," and used it in Agnus Dei figures in the original paraments made at the end of the nineteenth century for Washington Cathedral.
Métal Thread Techniques Couching
As in silk work, simple couching involves holding one thread in place by stitching another thread across it. This is the basic technique used in métal thread embroidery and can be employed to attach passing thread, rococco, twists, cords, or plates. The arrangement of the couching threads must be noted as well as the direction of the couched métal threads in relation to the length of the textile. Also of interest is the number of métal threads couch- ed in one couched stitch. For example: passing thread couched hori- zontally, two strands per row, in a brick pattern.
33
The author first encountered the work of Mackrille in
1976-77 while cataloging and conserving the original paraments made for Washington Cathedral. In the nineteenth century, Lucy studied in England at St. Mary's, Wantage, and with the Sisters of the
Church, Randolph Gardens, London. During this time, she very likely saw the fourteenth century angel orphrey bands in the Victoria
and Albert Muséum. It is also possible that she saw the St. James panel, since it is listed as "Found in the Collection," meaning that the panel has been in the Smithsonian since the turn of the century.
Later, as first head of the Altar Guild of Washington Cathedral, a post she filled for over forty years, Lucy used the "wool stitch" in embroideries for the cathedral. The author has encountered the
technique only in the two historic embroideries mentioned hère.
Lucy Vaughn Haydn Mackrille, Church Embroidery and Church Vestments, (Chevy Chase, MD: Cathedral Studios, 1939), pp. 34-35.
28 Brick Pattern Couching
Brick pattern couching is the most common and, when couching thread and couched métal thread are the same color, the most unob- trusive method of embroidering with métal threads. Passing threads are customarily laid two strands per row. They are couched with fine silks so that every other row is couched in a regular pattern
(Fig. 14).
Fig. 14. Passing thread couched, two strands per row, in the brick pattern.
Or Nue
The or nue' shaded gold technique has passing threads laid hor- izontally across the entire design area. Variously colored silk threads are then couched across them to form the design. This is accomplished by varying the density of the stitches and the values
29 and hues of the couching threads. Thus, the ground of gold is devoid of stitches, or as in the case of wide areas, couched in silks to match the métal in a brick pattern so as to be unobtrusive (Fig. 15).
Fig. 15. Or nue technique.
The term or nue means "shaded gold" in Old French. The
technique is believed to hâve begun in Flanders, and master embroi- derers from that country, as well as from France and Italy, were employed during the more than twenty years necessary to exécute the set of vestments known as "I Paramenti di San Giovanni" - the para- ments of St. John - made in the fifteenth century for the Duomo Bap-
tistry in Florence. Thèse embroideries were some of the first, 35 and certainly the finest, to use this technique extensively. Small
35
Maud Cruttwell, Antonio Pollaiuolo, (London: Duckworth, 1906), pp. 102-104.
30 areas, such as floors and robe éléments, appear in the Smithsonian collection in an orphrey fragment from the fifteenth century depict- ing a standing Christ and in the very fine médaillon in the cross orphrey made in France in the seventeenth century and depicting 37 Christ and two apostles at the Supper at Emmaus (Fig. 16).
Fig. 16. Or nue shading.
36 Catalog #L6139c.
"^'^Catalog //E366284. This example of or nue figure work is un- usual because even the faces and hands of the figures are executed in or nue. Ordinarily, the or nue is interrupted, and thèse areas are worked in a silk brick stitch, as in "I Paramenti di San Gio- vanni. "
31
Frequently, as in the matching sixteenth-century Italian orphrey bands having. figures in roundels, the or nue technique was 38
worked horizontally across the entire panel. Then the roundel bor- der was superimposed on top of the previous work (Fig. 17). This method can be determined by observing the back of the embroidery.
Italian Shading
This technique differs from or nue in that the métal threads
Fig. 17. Or nue panel with superimposed roundel border
T o
Catalog #16830 and $16831. The examples probably are part of two matching orphrey bands. They are exquisitely executed and beautifully designed. The figure work is fluid and graceful, the shading subtle.
32
follow the lines of the garment, flower petal, or, frequently, the stem or tendril of a floral motif, rather than being laid horizon- tally across the entire design area. Colored silks are then used to shade the motif by varying the densities of stitches (Fig. 18).
The technique was used extensively in Renaissance embroideries. A very early example is the rather primitive work in the fourteenth-
century Italian orphrey bands in the Victoria and Albert Muséum col- lection. The technique can be observed in the Smithsonian collec-39
Fig. 18. Italian Shading
39
The shading is rather crude, but the gold does follow the
shape of the leaves and is couched with polychrome silks. Zimmerman in Techniques of Métal Thread Embroidery, rev. éd., (Richmond, CA:
Zimmerman, 1980) calls the technique an or nue variation and states that there is no évidence of its existence prior to the last twenty years. She has apparently not seen the angel orphrey bands nor the
33 tion in the matching St. Lucy and St. Barbara apparels from the 40 sixteenth century (Fig. 19).
Fig. 19. St. Lucy apparel.
Pattern Couching
In this technique, the métal threads can be vertical, horizon- tal, or follow the shape of the design élément. The color of the couching stitches blends with the métal thread. However, instead of being bricked in an unobtrusive pattern they form a definite de- beautifully shaded fragment (#T254b-1968) from seventeenth-century Italy, both in the Victoria and Albert Muséum collection. Other examples are the eighteenth-century white peacock chasuble in the
Museo del Opéra del Duomo in Siena, and the sixteenth-century apparels in the Smithsonian collection.
^^Catalog #16838 and #L7087, respectively. The Italian shading is beautifully executed and well-suited to its place in the design program. The technique serves to shade berry, acanthus, leaf, and
34
corative pattern which produces the appearances of texture and move- ment in an embroidery (Fig. 20). The technique is frequently used
to form backgrounds or other architectural éléments. In the 41 example from the Smithsonian collection (Fig. 20), a coral repp
u 42 banner from seventeenth-century Italy, the zigzag nattern is
Fig. 20. Zigzag pattern couching.
pomegranate motifs.
'^•^In the late Middle Ages, the background behind figures en- closed in niches was often worked in pattern couching. Ail of the fifteenth-century orphrey band panel fragments in the Smithsonian collection which depict saints in niches are worked in this manner.
^^This banner has a wide variety of couching patterns including diagonals, basket weave, spirals, veins, and stripes as well as
zigzags. m addition, the couching in this leaf is done with ro- cocco rather than passing thread.
35 worked in an acanthus leaf, Patterns include diagonals, straight
lines, diamonds, open and closed trellises, arcs, and basket weave, This last is worked like brick couching except that two or more rows are couched in the same line pattern before shifting to the alternate space, The pattern resembles burden in a basket weave pattern but is not worked over padding,
Underside Couching
Underside couching/couche rentra is the métal thread couching technique made famous by the médiéval embroiderers of "opus Angli- canum." This technique was used to cover large areas with gold and, as in the case of the Pienza Cope, constitutes the entire background of some vestments.
A fine gold passing thread was laid on the surface and a strong linen thread was used as a couching thread. The couching stitch, which is taken across the gold thread, re-enters the fabric in the
same hole from which it emerged and a tiny loop of the gold thread is popped through the fabric to the underside. Thus, the couching thread does not appear on the surface of the embroidery, but the dips or dents in the gold thread form patterns by virtue of their placement (Fig. 21).
This technique provides an extremely flexible garment. The fact that none of the couching stitches appears on the surface of the garment, and are not, therefore, subject to abrasion, lengthens the life of the embroidery. Underside couching was a most time- consuming and skillful technique. I hâve seen few examples dating after the middle of the fourteenth century. 43
^^One reason may be the effects of the Black Death which struck London in 1352. The greater portions of such embroideries were
executed by guild masters many of whom were felled by the plague.
In the interest of saving time and for lack of expertise, vestments entirely covered by embroidery ceased to be made. This is the ex- planation most often offered for the démise of underside couching.
36
Fig. 21. Underside couching/ with darker thread being the couching thread: a) work from the surface, b) stitch being taken, c) a side view, and d) work from the back.
Burden
The burden technique is one in which threads are laid in one direction and other threads are stitched or couched over them in another direction. Silk and métal threads can be combined, or one or the other can be used over cord padding. Burdens can be either open or closed. In the open burden, the foundation threads can be seen. This type is generally worked using only embroidery
threads. An example is the fifteenth-century roundel orphrey band
It is also possible that patterned grounds no longer needed to be executed entirely in needlework because woven patterned ground fabrics f^^o™ Italy were in increasing supply.
37 in the Victoria and Albert Muséum collection, in which single
strands of gilt passing thread are laid horizontally approximately one-eighth inch apart across the entire design area. Polychrome silks are then stitched over them in a brick pattern to form the design of figures set in roundels.
Closed burdens are ordinarily worked over cord padding. An example is the nineteenth-century white silk chalice veil in the 44 Smithsonian collection which has a four-strand basket weave burden (Fig. 22). Hère two rows comprised of four strands are couched in the same pattern line before shifting to the alternate space.
Fig. 22. Four-strand basket weave burden technique
44 Catalogue #L7650b.
38 Padded Laid Work
Many différent materials were used for padding historic silk and métal thread embroideries, The most common are linen or cotton cords and cardboard templates. Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin, designer to Louis XV of France, even mentions using playing cards saturated with glue. Generally, the métal threads are couched, 45 two strands per row, back and forth across the padded shape. The cord padding is frequently used to define the borders of roundels or panels,
The types of couching patterns are numerous. One common type is the brick-and-bar pattern, such as that used in the fifteenth- century orphrey panel fragment in the Smithsonian collection 46
(Fig. 23). Hère, six cords are stitched vertically to the ground.
The gold threads are then couched over the cords in various combi- nations to form the pattern.
Another common pattern using cord padding is one involving a cable effect, such as that in the St, Lucy and St. Barbara apparels 47 in the Smithsonian collection (Fig. 24). This is often combined, as it is hère, with a brick pattern or a brick-and-bar pattern, or with simple couched bars. The cable is formed by two or more cords
(in this case four in units of two) laid in a twisted fashion and
Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin, Art of the Embroiderer, trans. Nikki Scheuer (Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Muséum of Art, 1983), p. 27.
Catalog #L6139a. This is a very commonplace pattern in em- broideries of this type from the late Middle Ages, and the pattern forms a sharp, clear géométrie border.
"^^Catalog #L6838 and #L7087, respectively. Cables could be of various sizes, using either linen cords or twists as foundation cords. The choice of a cable motif for this textile wisely com- pléments the curvilinear floral motifs of the ground embellish- ment .
39
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40 couched over with passing thread. In this example, there is an in- teresting method of couching employed—one that is fairly rare, Instead of being couched two strands per row, the couching threads are placed on a slight slant and interlocked (Fig. 25), 48
• ir.\'-A**\V>'-:'.
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••.•••.5»\3w •..-••-
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Fig. 25. Two strands per row, with interlocking couching stitches.
Padding techniques might also be carried out using linen threads to pad small motifs. The foundation threads were worked in a satin stitch at various angles until the desired height was reached.
Then the gold thread was laid over the entire area with couching threads being placed at ail edges of the padded motifs. 49
^^Occasionally, when very heavy foundation cords are used, two couching stitches, one on top of the other, are placed adjacent to either side of the cord. This prevents the gold threads from
easing up, which would ruin the crisp effect of the géométrie bor- der.
"^^Perhaps the most elaborate use of passing thread couched over padding occurs in the fourteenth-century Italian Cambi frontal made for Santa Maria Novella in Florence and signed by Jacopo Cambi
in 1336. The entire background, as well as the halos and décora-
41 The technique of using cardboard templates for padding was a common practice in the Near and Far East and I surmise may hâve come to Europe from China and Turkey. Saint-Aubin mentions using vellum in embroideries in 1770, Examples in the Smithsonian collection include the seventeenth-century coral silk repp banner, the eight- eenth-century Italian chasuble back, and the eighteenth/nineteenth- century Russian violet silk cape. In this technique, passing thread is carried back and forth across the template and is couched only at the edge of the motif. The threads can be couched singly or in pairs. Obviously, threads with a fine diameter are more
suitable to this technique because they more easily turn back upon themselves with a sharp bend (Fig. 26).
Techniques Using Bullions
The stiff coil known as pearl purl, or jaceron, is couched on the surface of the ground fabric. The couching stitches slip between the colis of the heavy wire, and are not noticeable. Pearl purl
seems to hâve been used more in heraldic embroidery than in ecclesi- astical embroidery until the twentieth century. The Division of Military History at the Smithsonian has many examples of pearl purl used on uniforms and epaulettes. The Division of Textiles possesses tive bands on the garments, are embellished with dozens of tiny pad- ded motifs over which the gold threads are couched. The background of the niche holding St. James the Greater is worked over padded shell motifs, for the shell is that saint's emblem. The niche hold- ing St. John the Baptist is patterned with flaming stars. Other mo- tifs include animais in roundels, flowers, stars, and fleur-de-lis.
The author studied this frontal in the Pitti Palace conservation laboratory in the summer of 1983.
Saint-Aubin, pp. 36-37.
^^Catalog #L6518, #115028, and #E391886, respectively. In the Russian cape embroidery, virtually ail solid shapes, mostly flower petals and leaves, are embroidered using this technique. The author has also observed the same technique on numerous articles of Jewish sacred embroidery, such as those she saw on exhibition in
42
l
Fig. 26. Passing threads couched back and forth across a cardboard template, and rococco couched in loops, two strands per row.
a fragment of a nineteenth-century American wedding govm. embroidered with a great variety of métal threads and ail the motif outlines are worked using fine pearl purl.
The bullion can be couched in rows, as an outline, or in shorter lengths to form patterns as in the adaptation of the lion of St. Mark from the eighth-century St. Willibrord Gospels, embroi- dered by the author (Fig. 27). Only occasionally is pearl purl cut into very short lengths and used in the same manner as are soft bullions.
the Jewish Muséum, London, in 1981.
43
F i g . 2 7 . Use of p e a r l p u r l .
44 Soft Purls
Smooth, matte, and check purls are used interchangeably, and are often combined to provide a variety of textures. They are cut into short lengths and threaded on a silk or linen thread, as if
they were beads. In some instances, they are scattered over a design area in a random fashion to provide pattern and glitter. At other times, they are used to couch passing thread or twists, as in the sixteenth-century St. Lucy apparel in the Smithsonian collection 52
(Fig. 28),
Bullion pièces can be used singly or in groups, such as the group of three - a pièce of check purl between two pièces of matte purl. Another common use of soft purls is in a padded satin stitch, usually over cord. In this instance, the bullions are cut to a
uniform length and laid side by side over a slightly twisted cord, or other padding. A remarkably early example of the use of bul- lions in this manner is the Cambi frontal-in which still-bright
silver smooth purl of a fine size is laid in a diagonal fashion over fine cord to outline the halos of the figures.
Techniques Using Flat Plate
Flat plate is customarily couched singly. It can be used in the same way as is passing thread, that is, couched in a brick pattern to fill a solid design area (Fig. 5 ) . It can also be couched at random to form lines of emphasis as in the nineteenth- century figure of St. Paul53 ^^ ^he Smithsonian collection (Fig. 29).
^^Catalog #L6838. The example shows soft purls used in two différent ways. They are laid singly, or in twos or threes,
across the gilt twist as a décorative élément. In addition, three différent kinds of soft purl are laid adjacent to one another
to fill a padded shape.
^-^Catalog #7360. This is an intriguing use of plate, the only example observed by the author in which plate is used to shade a
m
gr, • » iM45
tmm
F i g . 28. Use of soft p u r l s .
46
Fig. 29. Flat plate couched to provide shading with "scanty split stitch."
In this instance, the plate areas provide shading when worked in concert with what Lucy Mackrille called "scanty split stitch," or
split stitch shading that is not worked with stitches close together.
In addition, plate can be used as the foundation thread of the burden technique, couched in a décorative pattern, or combined with other threads as it is in the eighteenth-century Italian chasuble back ^ in the Smithsonian collection (Fig. 30). Also in the col-
garment. The thread is a fine silver plate couched one strand per row.
^Catalog #115028. In this case, gilt passing thread is twined around the strip of plate and the whole thing is couched in a brick pattern.
47
Fig. 30. Flat plate twined with passing thread and couched.
lection is an eighteenth-century white silk superfrontal having plate couched back and forth over heavy thread padding (Fig. 31).
Techniques Using Rococco
Today, when only fairly heavy strands of rococco are available, it is customary to couch it singly. In earlier times however, when very fine strands were the norm, rococco was often used as was pass- ing thread, that is, couched two strands per row. Principally,
^^Catalog #L6543.
The earliest example encountered by the author is the late fifteenth/early sixteenth-century orphrey panel fragment with the figure of St. James the Greater in the Smithsonian collection
(#L7152.01). Hère the thread is used in both silver and gilt forms.
48
Fig. 31. Plate couched back and forth over heavy padding.
the thread is used in areas where a textured effect is desired. In the white superfrontal mentioned previously (Fig. 31). it is couched to fill the leaf area below the plate couched over padding. Rococco
The thread came to be used frequently during the Baroque era in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
49
is also frequently used as an outline for other design éléments.
In the Russian cape in the Smithsonian collection, it is couched, two strands per row, in loops around the flower petals, and is used to form stems and leaves (Fig, 26).
Braids, Twists, Cords, and Galloons
Metallic braids, twists, and cords are couched only infrequent- ly. Instead, they are more often attached by tiny stitches into the métal thread, usually from opposite sides and alternately, Galloons
are woven tapes of luxurious threads, ordinarily metallic. They are most often found as edging on an embroidery and are attached by whip-stitching or with a running stitch. An example is the sixteenth-
century St. Barbara apparel in the Smithsonian collection (Fig. 32), 58
Catalog #E391886, This looped technique is frequently observed on Russian paraments, though usually it is executed by using passing thread in single strands rather than rococco in a double strand.
58
Catalog #L7087. This particular galloon was used to edge both sides of the décorative border that frames the apparel. Thus it
is contemporary with the embroidery. Frequently, galloons will hâve been added to embroideries at later dates, especially when piecing together fragments that were not originally joined. There- fore, it behooves a researcher to inspect galloons very carefully to détermine exactly whether they are part of the original textiles or were added as part of a mending process.
50
F i g . 32. G i l t g a l l o o n .
CHAPTER IV
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Identification of Figures
Ecclesiastical embroideries from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, and during the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival period, frequently depict human figures. Thèse figures are most often en- closed in some sort of frame: a médaillon or roundel, a cartouche, or a niche, The twelve apostles are a favorite subject for use on orphrey band panels and as flanking saints on either side of a
scène such as the Coronation of the Virgin, The four evangelists—
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are often used on four matching ap- parels, as those from the sixteenth century in the Smithsonian col- lection, The Madonna and Child is another favorite thème, as is 59 a figure of Christ, usually in an attitude of blessing. Cross or- phreys of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries frequently depict
the Crucifixion with the Virgin on the left and St. John on the right as in the 1435-1445 chasuble and the Erpingham Chasuble 60
showing the Crucifixion plus apostles and armoriai bearings of Sir Thomas Erpingham. Both examples are in the Victoria and Albert Muséum.
Other saints, the apostles and St. Paul being the most common, are also depicted. Identifying them can at times be difficult. 61
^Catalog #L6137a-d. The symbols for the evangelists are oc- casionally used on the four ends of the cross arms in a Crucifixion cross orphrey.
^°Catalog #402-1907 and #256-1967, respectively. Both of thèse cross orphreys are applied to red and gold Italian ground fabrics, which may post-date the orphrey bands themselves.
^^Appendix B contains a list of the most common saints and their attributes.
51
52 especially in those embroideries dating from the middle of the
fourteenth century. In thèse the designers failed to include iden- tifying scrolls inscribed with names in the hands of the figures or to include their names in the background area, Frequently, the designers rendered the figures so as to be totally unrecognizable.
In writing an analysis, one must first note the portion of the figure depicted, such as full- or half-length, standing, seated, and so forth. Next, identify the figure by name, and de- scribe the attributes présent in the scène. An example notation would be: a standing figure of St. Peter, holding the keys to the
kingdom of heaven in his left hand. Further information, such as the colors and styles of clothing, can also be noted.
Ferguson's Signs and S3nnbols in Christian Art and Post's fi4
Saints, Signs, and Symbols are good sources for basic information on saints and their attributes. If the scène is more complicated.
Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and S3anbols in Art and Delaney's Pocket Dictionary of Saints will be helpful, Occasionally and especially in embroideries worked in places other than large reli- gious establishments or guilds in cosmopolitan areas, one encounters
67
Frequently, the attributes to and of the saints are indecipher- able because of the state of disrepair of the embroidery. This was the case with the orphrey band panel (#L6139c) in the Smithsonian collection. Hère the silk of the embroidered attribute has been worn away. In this case, the best one can do is to note the figure as "an unidentified maie saint." It is occasionally possible to make an educated guess based on the size of the attribute, its
gênerai shape, and the accompanying saints. For instance, if only one of a set of twelve figures is unidentified and the other eleven are apostles, the last must be the twelfth. In the case of the panel mentioned above, the shape of the worn area indicated either St. Tho- mas with his carpenter's square, or St. Bartholomew with flaying
knife. In any case, suppositions must be noted as such.
^"^For an example, see the analysis on the cross orphrey
#E286495 in Appendix C.
^'^Complete information on ail références given can be found in the Bibliography. See page 59.