Albert Frank Kendrick and Alan Summerly Cole

“ German embroidery of the 12th and 13th centuries adheres closely to the traditions of Byzantine art. A peculiarity of much medieval German work is a tendency to treat the draperies of the figures as flat surfaces to be covered with diaper patterns, showing no folds. A cope from Hildesheim cathedral, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is a typical illustration of such work, dating from the end of the 13th century. It is embroidered in silk upon linen with the martyrdom of apostles and saints. ”

“ The costumes of men and women, as well as curtains and hangings and such articles of domestic use, were often richly adorned with embroidery. These have mostly perished; while the careful preservation and comparatively infrequent use of the vestments and other objects devoted to the service of the church have given us tangible evidence of the attainments of the medieval embroiderer. Much of this work was produced in convents, but old documents show that in monasteries also were to be found men known for their skill in needlework. ”

“ Each leaf has a canopy of architecture represented in perspective. In the 16th century an effective style of embroidery was practised in France; the pattern is generally a graceful combination of floral and scroll forms, cut out of velvet, satin or silk, and applied to a thick woollen cloth. Later work, chiefly of a floral character, has served for the decoration of costumes, ecclesiastical vestments, curtains and hangings, and the seats and backs of chairs. ”

“ In concerning ourselves solely with those periods of which examples survive, we must pass over a wide gap and begin with the anciently-civilized land of Egypt. The sandy soil and dry climate of that country have led to the preservation of woven stuffs and embroideries of unique historic interest. ”

“ Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries embroidery in England, though sometimes lacking in good taste, maintained generally a high standard, and that done to-day, based on the study of old examples, need not fear comparison with any modern work. During these three centuries bold floral patterns for hangings, curtains and coverlets have been usual (Plate III. fig. 13) , but smaller works, such as samplers, covers of work-boxes, and pictorial and landscape subjects (fig. 5) , have been produced in large numbers. ”

“ That true embroidery, in the modern sense—the decoration by means of the needle of a finished woven material—was practised among the ancient Greeks, has been demonstrated by the finding of some textile fragments in graves in the Crimea; these are now in the Hermitage at St Petersburg. One of them, of purple woollen material, from a tomb assigned to the 4th century B.C., is embroidered in wools of different colours with a man on horseback, honeysuckle ornament and tendrils. Another woollen piece, attributed to the following century, has a stem and arrow-head leaves worked in gold thread. ”

“ The use of embroidery in Asia—especially in India, China, Turkestan and Persia—dates back to very early times. The conservatism of all these peoples renders the date of surviving examples often difficult to establish, but the greater number of such embroideries now to be seen in Europe are certainly of no great age. ”

“ Under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy in the 15th century art in the southern provinces of the Netherlands prospered greatly, and able artists were found to meet the wishes of those munificent rulers. ”

“ Towards the end of the latter century, and until the dissolution of the monasteries in the next, much ecclesiastical embroidery of effective design was done, and many examples are still to be seen in churches throughout the country. In the Tudor period the costumes of the wealthy were often richly adorned with needlework. ”

“ The heads are individualized, and the folds of the draperies are laboriously worked out in detail. The masonry of buildings, the veinings of marble, and the architectural enrichments are often represented with careful fidelity, and landscape backgrounds are shown in every detail. ”

“ In England the craft has been a favourite employment for many centuries, and persons of all ranks have occupied their spare hours at needlework. Some embroidered fragments, found in 1826–1827 in the tomb of St Cuthbert at Durham, and now kept in the cathedral library, were worked, chiefly in gold thread, by order of Ælfflæda, queen of Edward the Elder, for Fridestan, bishop of Winchester, early in the 10th century. In the later part of the following century the “Bayeux tapestry” was produced—a work of unique importance (Plate I. fig. 7) . It is a band of linen, more than 230 ft. ”

“ A preference is shown for floral patterns, but the Mahommedans of Persia had no scruples about introducing the forms of men and animals—the former engaged in hawking or hunting, or feasting in gardens. ”

“ According to the present consensus of opinion it belongs to a later time than either of those dignitaries, dating most probably from the 12th century. [7] In front is represented Christ enthroned as Judge of the world, a youthful but majestic figure; on the back is the Transfiguration. These, as well as the minor subjects, are explained by Greek inscriptions. The wide influence of Byzantine art gradually died out after the Latin sack of Constantinople in the year 1204, although the style lingered, and lingers still, in certain localities, notably at Mount Athos. ”