Opus Anglicanum, Coronation of Mary THLady Hildegard Bergerin (www.shinystitches.wordpress.com) Kingdom of Atlantia

Introduction Item . Polychrome spun , 22kt gold wrapped silk (Figure 1), ground, appliquéd onto silk background (see Figure 3 for extant example). Techniques used include split-stitch, underside . Tools used include an embroidery frame, pencil, needles, , and mellor. Image is based on the burse pictured below (Figure 1a), currently located in the Victoria and Albert Museum. This burse was made between 1320 and 1330 in England. I chose to do just the bust of Mary due to a very limited time before this needed to be finished (began in late January, to be finished before Gulf Wars in Early March).

Figure 1a. Opus Anglicanum burse, 1320-1330, England. Picture from www.vam.ac.uk.

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Time 1200 A.D.-1350 A.D. is considered to be the height of Opus Anglicanum. After the mid- 14th Century the rounded contours done in split stitch gave way to straight stitches, and the time consuming shimmering underside couching was replaced by much faster overside couching.

Location England. Opus Anglicanum inspired similar styles in other parts of Europe including France, Italy and Germanic lands.

Many Hands The production of Opus Anglicanum involved many different hands at various stages. Spinners, dyers, and weavers produced the fine sturdy linen, silk, and velvet fabrics upon which Opus Anglicanum was stitched. Those who drew the “cartoons” of images and designs onto the ground fabrics were different hands then those who stitched the final images. There are examples of images drawn onto base fabrics that were not followed by the embroiderer, intricately twining vines were sometimes covered over by more simple geometric embroidery. Silk was available to the embroiderer as both spun threads, and as filament floss. Both were professionally pre-dyed in a brilliant array of colors. Gold wrapped threads (similar to Figure 1b) were available from different merchants, who had to follow strict rules regarding quality of their product. An apprenticeship of four to five years was required to be a professional gold thread maker. An apprenticeship lasting seven years was required to become a professional Broiderer of Opus Anglicanum. My project differed in that I did multiple parts, including drawing the cartoon, all of the silk work, all of the metal work, and the final mounting. Like many of artisans during the height of Opus Anglicanum I procured all of my materials (linen, tools, and both silk and gold threads) from professional makers.

Figure 1b. Thin metal strip wrapped around a yellow core.

Examples of Patterns in Gold Backgrounds I am especially fascinated by the images and patterns found in the shimmering gold backgrounds of Opus Anglicanum. These patterns range from simple geometrics (chevrons, diamonds) to more complex flowers, crosses, fleur-di-lis, interlocking squares and foils, to even more intricate twining vines (Figure 2), lions in various postures, birds, and letters. For this project I chose the challenge of twining vines terminating in a 3 modified trefoil in the gold background. The entire background was done using only one kind of gold thread, and the pattern was made by differing size and orientation of the underside couching stitches. The entirety of the vining pattern was executed in single threaded horizontal stitches, and the background was filled with double threaded, bricked, vertical stitches.

Figure 2. The Pienza , detail with more intricate design in gold background embroidery. (www.artearti.net)

Materials Threads Linen threads found in Opus Anglicanum are on the back where they have been used in underside couching, and where pearls, beads, or gems have been sewn on.

Silk threads in Opus Anglicanum are beautifully dyed, may be used either as silk twist threads (two threads twisted together similar to modern spun silk threads), or as shiny floss silk. The two types of silk were sometimes combined. Tiny split stitch, averaging 1mm, done with silk threads, make up most of the beautiful, curving, flowing lines of the main images, faces, hair, , wings, etc. Silk was imported as both finished threads and as bales of raw silk from China. Raw silk was processed by London’s “silkwomen” who made and sold silk threads. The English also imported very high quality silk threads from Paris, and from Italy. (Dale, 1933; Lester-Makin, 2019; Browne et al., 2016).

Gold threads included a range from strips of pure gold wrapped, in an S direction, around a silk core, to silver-gilt strips, and strips of thinly gold-plated alloys including silver and copper alloys, wrapped on a silk or linen core. Core threads were usually yellow, or white, However, there are records of specially ordered gold threads with green, red, and “diversely colored” silk cores. Types of gold thread in Opus Anglicanum include “filé”, drawn gold wire ("auri tractitio", or “Damask gold”), “Cypress gold”, and “fine gold”. 4

The finest gold-wrapped threads, the filé, are 0.25-0.30mm in diameter. The gold-plated thread used on this piece falls within the size range of the filé with a consistent diameter of 0.27mm.

Fabrics Linen was closely woven, with 15-22 threads per cm (Crowfoot, Pritchard, and Staniland, 2001). Of the modern linen available, the light/handkerchief-weight linen used for this project is the most similar that I found readily available, having 22 threads per cm on the warp and 17 threads per cm on the weft. Linen was completely covered in silk and metal embroidery! Various , silk damasks, and served as a sumptuous background for the luxurious silk and metal threads. When working on velvet, a thin layer of silk was embroidered through, then the edges trimmed, thus allowing the embroidery to be lifted above the velvet pile rather then sinking into it (Figure 3a). Another approach, and the one I chose, was to embroider slips onto linen, which were then trimmed and appliquéd onto the velvet (Figure 3b).

Figure 3a. Detail from apparels of an alb, embroidered over silk on red velvet. (vam.ac.uk.org)

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Figure 3b. Embroidered appliqued onto a velvet cushion. (harvardartmuseums.org)

Methods Elucidating the background pattern The images and patterns stitched into the background in gold thread, which are also surrounded by gold thread, are not always readily apparent, especially in photographs, which typically focus on the main images in brightly colored silks. The best way that I have found to elucidate these patterns and images is to find, or create, a digital image showing at least part of the desired area. Next enlarge the image to see more detail. Everywhere that the metal stitches change direction and/or texture, mark with a felt-tip marker. If the patterns are too difficult to see in full color, change the image to gray scale, as shown in Figure 4, and increase saturation if necessary. Then mark the edge of where the direction/texture of the stitches changes with a highlighter. Once the pattern has been highlighted, it can be rescaled to the appropriate size, repeated if appropriate, copied, and transferred to the fabric via prick and pounce. If the pattern is simple, or reasonably geometric, it may be drawn directly onto the fabric. 6

Figure 4. Grayscale with increased saturation

Drawing/transfering the pattern Historically done using prick and pounce with charcoal dust, followed by painting in lines. This method still works extremely well! Additional methods include the use of regular #2 graphite pencil (which can rub off and darken pale, or bright silk threads), and Pigma pen which is an ideal method when combined with traditional prick and pounce.

Order of stitching All silk stitching should be completed before beginning metal thread application. When doing the silk sections a good order is black outlines, faces and hands, hair/beards next, clothing and any accessories or scenery. Figure 5 is a good example of order. Metal thread should be applied before any pearl, bead, or gem embellishment except when forming a collar around pearls/gems. You don’t want fine silk threads catching on metal threads or pearls/beads/gems, nor do you want metal threads catching on them! 7

Figure 5a and 5b. Face, hair, clothing, accessories, and scenery followed by gold crown (5a), highlights, and background. Notice multi-tone hair, and single color beard (5b) (vam.uc.uk).

Time The time involved in stitching Opus Angicanum ranges from 3-4 (or more) hours/in2! This is not a quick style of , nor is it a good one to do under pressure or on a short timeline. Plan ahead…far, far ahead! For example: the first small piece I created was 5” x 6” and took ~120 hours (including mistakes!). The current piece I am working on is much larger, 10” x14”, and I am estimating that, if no major mistakes are made, it will take me about 500-600 hours!

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References & Sources

Browne, Clare, Glyn Davis, and M.A. Michael (edited by). 2016. English Medieval Embroidery Opus Anglicanum. Yale University Press. New Haven.

Christie, Mrs. Archibald. 1920. Samplers & Stitches. B.T. Batsford Ltd. London.

Bergemann, Uta-Christine, and Annemarie Stauffer, Hrsg. 2010. Reich Bilder. Aspekte zur Produktion und Funktion von Stickereien im Spätmittelalter. Verleg Schnell & Steiner. Regensburg.

Country Bumpkin. 2015. A~Z of with Silk Embroidery. Search Press.

Crowfoot, Elizabeth, Frances Pritchard, and Kay Staniland. 2001. and Clothing 1150-1450. Boydell Press (in association with Museum of London), Woodbridge.

Dale, Marian K., 1933. The London Silkwomen of the Fifteenth Century, Economic History Review 4: 324-35.

Freeman, Margaret B. 1968. The Saint Martin . The Metropolitian Museum of Art. Distributed by New York Graphic Society, Greenwich.

Hands, Hinda M. 1907. Church Needlework, a manual of Practical Instruction. G.J. Palmer & Sons. London

Lester-Makin, Alexandra. 2019. The Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World. The Sacred and Secular Power of Embroidery. Oxbow Books, Oxford.

Moris, May. 1905. Opus Anglicanum III-The Pienza Cope. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 7:25. Pp 54-65.

Schuette, Marie, and Sigrid Müeller-Chirstensen. 1963. Das Stickereiwerk. Verlag. Tübingen.

Museum and other websites Arte e Arti. www.artearti.net Havard Art Museums. www.harvardartmuseums.org The Met. www.metmuseum.org Research Centre. trc-leiden.nl Victoria & Albert Museum, London. www.vam.ac.uk

Please enjoy more of my needlework at www.shinystitches.wordpress.com

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Appendix 1: Progress Photos

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Appendix 2: Stitch Diagrams Stitch diagrams are from Mrs. Archibald H. Christie’s 1906 book “Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving: A Practical Text-Book of Design and Workmanship”. (Side note: Mrs. Christie’s first name was Grace).

Diagram 1: Split-stitch. Formed by bringing the tip of the needle up through the previous stitch.

Diagram 2: Underside couching, left diagram shows surface, right diagram shows reverse side of fabric. Done by pulling a small loop of surface thread to the back using a sturdy couching thread. Using a large needle, the couching thread is brought up through the fabric, passed over the metal thread(s), and returned through the exact same hole that the needle initially came through, then a bit of tension is placed on the thread to pull a small loop of the metal thread to the back of the fabric. (Metal thread is my default example, underside couching can be successfully done with other types of thread).