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EMBROIDERY (M.E. embrouderie, from O....

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Originally appearing in Volume V09, Page 313 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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EMBROIDERY (M.E. embrouderie, from O. Fr. embroder, Mod. Fr. broder)  , the ornamentation of textile fabrics and other materials with See also:needlework . The beginnings of the See also:art of See also:embroidery probably date back to a very See also:primitive See also:stage in the See also:history of all peoples, since See also:plain stitching must have been one of the earliest attainments of mankind, and from that it is but a See also:short step to decorative needlework of some See also:kind . The See also:discovery of needles among the See also:relics of Swiss See also:lake-dwellings shows that their primitive inhabitants were at least acquainted with the art of stitching . In concerning ourselves solely with those periods of which examples survive, we must pass over a wide See also:gap and begin with the anciently-civilized See also:land of See also:Egypt . The sandy See also:soil and dry See also:climate of that See also:country have led to the preservation of See also:woven stuffs and embroideries of unique historic See also:interest . The See also:principal, and by far the earliest, known pieces which have a bearing on the See also:present subject, found in 1903 in the See also:tomb of Tethmosis (Thoutm6sis, or Thothmes) IV. at See also:Thebes, are now in the See also:Cairo Museum . There are three fragments, entirely of See also:linen, in- wrought with patterns in See also:blue, red, See also:green and See also:black (fig . I) . A kind of See also:tapestry method is used, the patterns being wrought upon the warp threads of the ground, instead of upon the finished See also:web or woven material . Such a See also:process, generally supplemented, as in this See also:case, by a few stitches of See also:fine needlework, was still in See also:common use at a far later See also:time . The largest of the three fragments at Cairo bears, in addition to rows of See also:lotus See also:flowers and See also:papyrus inflorescences, a See also:cartouche containing the name of Amenophis (Amenhotep) II . (c .

15th See also:

century B.C.); another is inwrought with the name of Tethmosis III . (c . 16th century B.C.).1 No other embroidered stuffs which can be assigned to so See also:early a date have hitherto come to See also:light in the See also:Nile valley (nor indeed elsewhere), and the student who wishes to gain a See also:fuller knowledge of the textile patterns of the See also:ancient Egyptians must be referred to the See also:wall-paintings and sculptured reliefs which have been preserved in considerable See also:numbers . From the ancient civilizations of See also:Babylon and See also:Assyria no fragments of embroidery, nor even of woven stuffs, have come down to us . The fine See also:series of wall-reliefs from See also:Nineveh in the See also:British Museum give some See also:idea of the geometrical and floral patterns and diapers which adorned the See also:robes of the ancient Assyrians . The discovery of the ruins of the See also:palace of See also:Darius I . (521–485 B.C.) at See also:Susa in 1885 has thrown some light upon the textile art of the ancient Persians . They evidently owed much to the nations whom they had supplanted . The famous See also:relief from this palace (now in the Louvre) represents a procession of archers, wearing See also:long robes covered with small See also:diaper patterns, perhaps of embroidery . The exact significance of the words used in the See also:book of See also:Exodus in describing the robes of See also:Aaron (ch. See also:xxviii.) and the hangings and ornaments of the See also:Tabernacle (ch. See also:xxvi.) cannot be deter-See also:mined, and the " broidered See also:work " of the prophecy of See also:Ezekiel (ch. See also:xxvii.) at a later time is also of uncertain meaning . It seems likely that much of this ancient work was of the tapestry class, such as we have found in the early fragments from Thebes . The methods of the ancient See also:Greek embroiderer, or "variegator " ('IrouuXrits) to whom woven garments were submitted 1 See H .

See also:

Carter and P . E . See also:Newberry, See also:Cat. gen. See also:des See also:ant. egypt. du musee du Caire (1904), pl. i. and xxviii . A remarkable piece of See also:Egyptian needlework, the funeral See also:tent of See also:Queen Isi em Kheb (XXIst See also:Dynasty), was discovered at See also:Deir el Bahri some years ago . It is described as a See also:mosaic of leatherwork—pieces of gazelle hide of several See also:colours, stitched together (see See also:Villiers See also:Stuart, The Funeral Tent of an Egyptian Queen, 1882) . for enrichment, can only be conjectured . The peplos or woven See also:cloth made every fifth See also:year to See also:cover or shade the statue of See also:Athena in the See also:Parthenon at See also:Athens, and carried at the Panathenaic festival,' was ornamented with the battles of the gods and giants . The See also:late Dr J . H . See also:Middleton thought that very possibly most of the elaborate work upon these peploi was done by the See also:needle . That true embroidery, in the See also: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 See also:graves in the See also:Crimea; these are now in the Hermitage at St See also:Petersburg . One of them, of See also:purple woollen material, from a tomb assigned to the 4th century B.C., is embroidered in wools of different colours with a See also:man on horseback, See also:honeysuckle See also:ornament and tendrils .

Another woollen piece, attributed to the following century, has a See also:

stem and arrow-See also:head leaves worked in See also:gold See also:thread' In turning to ancient See also:Rome, it is well first briefly to See also:notice See also:Pliny's See also:account of the See also:craft (Nat . Hist. viii.), as recording the views current in Rome at his time (1st century A.D.) . After See also:relating that See also:Homer mentions embroidered garments (pictas vestes), he states that the Phrygians first used the needle for embroidered robes, which were thence called Phrygionian (Phrygioniae), and that Attalic garments were named from Attalus II., See also:king of See also:Pergamum (159–138 B.C.), the inventor of the art of embroidering in gold . He further relates that Babylon gave the name to embroideries of See also:divers colours, for the See also:production of which that See also:city was famous . By the See also:Romans the art was designated as " See also:painting with the needle " (acu pingere), a See also:term used by See also:Virgil in speaking of the decoration of robes, by See also:Ovid (who describes it as an art taught by See also:Minerva), and by See also:Roman writers generally when referring to embroidery.' It is to be regretted that no examples have. been discovered in the neighbourhood of the Roman See also:capital . For embroideries made under Roman See also:influence we must again look ,to Egypt . They formed the decoration of garments' and See also:mummy-wrappings from the cemeteries in Upper and See also:Middle Egypt, which have been so extensively rifled of late years . Those of Roman type date approximately from the first five centuries of the See also:Christian era . The earliest represent human figures, animals, birds, geometrical and interlacing ornaments, vases, See also:fruit, flowers and foliage (especially the See also:vine) . They are generally done in purple See also:wool and undyed linen thread by the tapestry process employed in Egypt at least fifteen centuries earlier, as we have seen; most of the patterns have had the lines more clearly marked out by the See also:ordinary method of needlework . Towards the end of this See also:period a greater choice of colours is seen, and Christian symbols appear . At this time examples worked entirely upon the finished web are found (fig .

2) . The transition is easy from such work to the veritable " needle-paintings," representing scenes from the gospels, produced in Egypt shortly after (fig . 3) . Such embroideries are evidently akin to those mentioned by See also:

Bishop Asterius (330-410), who describes the garments worn by effeminate Christians as painted like the walls of their houses.' From the time of Justinian (527–565) onwards for some centuries, the art of See also:Europe, embroidery with the See also:rest, was dominated by that of the See also:Byzantine See also:empire . To trace the progress of the highly conventionalized Byzantine See also:style, becoming more rigid and stereotyped as time passes, belongs to the See also:general hi See also:Cory of art, and such a task cannot be attempted here . P€rhaps the most remarkable example of all which have survived ' The procession at this festival is represented upon the See also:frieze of the Parthenon . z See Compte rendu de la See also:Comm . See also:Imp . See also:Arch., 1878–1879 (St Petersburg), pl. iii. and v . $ For an account of the conditions under which Greek and Roman embroiderers worked, see Alan S . See also:Cole, " Some Aspects of Ancient and Modern Embroidery," See also:Journal of the Society of Arts, vol . 'iii., 1905, PP .

958, 959 . 'Chiefly tunics with See also:

vertical bands (clavi) and medallions (orbi- culae), and an ample See also:outer robe or cloak . The See also:Adoration of the Magi is represented upon the See also:lower border of the long robe worn by the empress See also:Theodora (wife of Justinian) in the mosaic in the See also:church of S . Vitale at See also:Ravenna.to illustrate the work of the Byzantine embroiderers is the blue See also:silk robe known as the See also:dalmatic of See also:Charlemagne or of See also:Leo III., in the See also:sacristy of St See also:Peter's at Rome (fig . 4) . According to the present consensus of See also:opinion it belongs to a later time than either of those dignitaries, dating most probably from the 12th century' In front is represented See also:Christ enthroned as See also:judge of the See also:world, a youthful but majestic figure; on the back is the Transfiguration . These, as well as the See also:minor subjects, are explained by Greek See also:inscriptions . The wide influence of Byzantine art gradually died out after the Latin See also:sack of FrG . 3.–Embroidered See also:panel from a linen garment, with a See also:representation of the See also:Annunciation and the Salutation . Found in a See also:cemetery in Egypt . Coptic work of the 6th or 7th century A.D . See also:Constantinople in the year 1204, although the style lingered, and lingers still, in certain localities, notably at See also:Mount See also:Athos .

See also:

Palermo in See also:Sicily succeeded See also:Byzantium as the capital of the 6 Writers have assigned different See also:dates to this vestment: See also:Lady See also:Alford, Needlework as Art (earlier than the 13th century) ; F . Bock, See also:Die Kleinodien (12th century); S . Boisser6e, Uber die Kaiser-Dalmatica in der St Peterskirche zu Rom (12th or first See also:half of 13th century) ; A . S . Cole, Cantor Lectures at Society of Arts, 19os (possibly of 9th century) ; See also:Lord See also:Lindsay, Christian Art (12th or early 13th century); A . Venturi, Storia dell' arte (loth or 11th century); T . Braun, Liturg . Gewandung, p . 305 and See also:note (late 14th or early 15th century) . arts in Europe, although its ascendancy was of brief duration . Under the See also:Norman See also:kings of Sicily the style was strongly See also:oriental, consequent upon the earlier occupation of the See also:island by the See also:Saracens, and upon the employment of Saracenic craftsmen by the See also:Normans . The magnificent red silk See also:mantle at See also:Vienna, embroidered in gold thread with a date-See also:palm and two lions springing upon camels, and enriched with pearls and See also:enamel plaques, bears See also:round the edge an Arabic inscription, recording that it was made in the royal factory of the capital of Sicily (Palermo) in the year 528 (=A.D .

1134) . At that time See also:

Roger, the first Norman king, was on the See also:throne . Another of the imperial See also:coronation-robes—a linen See also:alb with gold embroidery—is also at Vienna .l An inscription in Latin and Arabic states that it was made in the year 1181, under the reign of See also:William II . (Norman king of Sicily, 1166–1189) . From about that time distinct See also:national styles began to develop in different places . In tracing the progress of the embroiderer's art during the middle ages we must rely mainly upon the many fine examples of ecclesiastical work which have been preserved . The costumes of men and See also: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 See also:vestments and other See also:objects devoted to the service of the church have given us tangible See also:evidence of the attainments of the See also: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 . Other names, both of men and women, are recorded, showing that the craft was by no means exclusively confined to monastic foundation_ . See also:Gilds of embroiderers existed far back in medieval times . In See also:England the craft has been a favourite employment for many centuries, and persons of all ranks have occupied their spare See also:hours at needlework .

Some embroidered fragments, found in 1826–1827 in the tomb of St See also:

Cuthbert at See also:Durham, and now kept in the See also:cathedral library, were worked, chiefly in gold thread, by See also:order of iElffla;da, queen of See also:Edward the See also:Elder, for Fridestan, bishop of See also:Winchester, early in the loth century . ' Both are illustrated in F . Bock, Die Kleinodien . In the later See also:part of the following century the " See also:Bayeux tapestry " was produced—a work of unique importance (See also:Plate I. fig . 7) . It is a See also:band of linen, more than 230 ft. long, embroidered in coloured wools with the See also:story of the Norman See also:conquest of England . (See BAYEUX TAPESTRY.) Some fragments of metallic embroidery on silk, of the 12th and 13th centuries, may be seen in the library of See also:Worcester cathedral . They were removed from the coffins of two bishops, William de See also:Blois (1218–1236) and See also:Walter de Cantelupe (1236-1266) . A fragment of gold embroidery from the tomb of the latter bishop is preserved in the See also:Victoria and See also:Albert Museum at See also:South See also:Kensington, and others are in the British Museum . In the 13th century See also:English embroidery was famous throughout western Europe, and many embroidered objects are described in inventories of that time as being de opere anglicano . During that century, and the early part of the next, English work was at its best . The most famous example is the " Syon See also:cope " at South Kensington, belonging to the latter half of the 13th century (see COPE, Plate I. fig .

2) . It represents the coronation of the Virgin, the Crucifixion, the See also:

archangel See also:Michael transfixing the See also:dragon, the See also:death and See also:burial of the Virgin, our Lord See also:meeting See also:Mary Magdalene in the See also:garden, the Apostles and the hierarchies of angels . The broad See also:orphrey is embroidered with a series of heraldic See also:shields (Plate II. fig . 9) . Other embroideries of the period are at See also:Steeple See also:Aston, See also:Chesterfield (See also:Col . See also:Butler-Bowden), Victoria and Albert and British museums, Rome (St See also:John Lateran), See also:Bologna, See also:Pienza, Anagni, See also:Ascoli, St See also:Bertrand de Comminges, See also:Lyons museum, See also:Madrid (archaeological museum), See also:Toledo and See also:Vich . During the course of the 14th and 15th centuries embroideries produced in England were not equal to the earlier work . To-wards the end of the latter century, and until the See also:dissolution of the monasteries in the next, much ecclesiastical embroidery of effective See also: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 portraits of King See also:Henry VIII., Queen See also:Elizabeth and their courtiers show how magnificent was the embroidery used for such purposes . Many examples, especially of the latter reign, worked with very effective and beautiful floral patterns, have come down to these times . A kind of embroidery known as " black work," done in black silk on linen, was popular during the same reign .

A See also:

tunic embroidered for Queen Elizabeth, with devices copied from contemporary woodcuts, is an excellent example of this work . It now belongs to the See also:Viscount See also:Falkland . Another class of work, popular at the same time, was closely worked in wools and silks on open-mesh material like See also:canvas, which was entirely covered by the embroidery . Figures in See also:rich See also:costume were often introduced (Plate I. fig . 6) . This method was much practised in See also:France, and the term applied to it in that country, " au See also:petit point," has become generally used . Through-out the 17th and 18th centuries embroidery in England, though sometimes lacking in See also:good See also:taste, maintained generally a high See also:standard, and that done to-See also: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 See also:works, such as samplers, covers of work-boxes, and pictorial and landscape subjects (fig . 5), have been produced in large numbers . In the 18th century gentlemen's coats and waistcoats and ladies' dresses were extensively embroidered . In France, embroidery, like all the arts practised by that nation, has been characterized by much See also:grace and beauty, and many good specimens belonging to different periods are known .

Phoenix-squares

The vestments associated with the name of St See also:

Thomas of Canter-See also:bury at See also:Sens may be either of See also:French or English work (12th century) . To the later part of the following century belongs a band of embroidery, representing the coronation of the Virgin, the Adoration of the Magi, the presentation in the See also:Temple, and other subjects beneath See also:Gothic See also:arches, preserved in the Hotel-Dieu at See also:Chateau See also:Thierry . The See also:mitre of See also:Jean de See also:Marigny, See also:archbishop of See also:Rouen (1347–1351), in the museum at See also:Evreux, 312 embroidered with figures of St Peter and St Eloy, may be regarded as representative of 14th-century work . An See also:altar-frontal with the Annunciation embroidered in silks and gold and See also:silver upon a blue silk See also:damask ground, now in the museum at See also:Lille, is a very beautiful example of Franco-Flemish art in the second half of the 15th century . It was originally in the church at Noyelleslez-Seclin . An embroidery more characteristically French, and belonging to the same century, is in the museum at See also:Chartres . It is a See also:triptych, having in the middle a pieta, on the See also:left wing St John the Evangelist, and on the right St See also:Catherine of See also:Alexandria . Each See also:leaf has a See also:canopy of See also:architecture represented in See also:perspective . In the 16th century an effective style of embroidery was practised in France; the See also:pattern is generally a graceful See also:combination of floral and See also:scroll forms, cut out of See also:velvet, satin or silk, and applied to a thick woollen cloth . Later work, chiefly of a floral See also:character, has served for the decoration of costumes, ecclesiastical vestments, curtains and hangings, and the seats and backs of chairs . Under the See also:rule of the See also:dukes of See also:Burgundy in the 15th century art in the See also:southern provinces of the See also:Netherlands prospered Fxe . 5.-See also:Oval picture in silk embroidery: Fame scattering Flowers over See also:Shakespeare's Tomb .

English work of the 18th century . greatly, and able artists were found to meet the wishes of those munificent rulers . The See also:

local See also:schools of painting, which flourished under their patronage, appear to have very considerably influenced the embroiderers' art . See also:Great care and pains were given to reproduce as accurately as possible the painted See also:cartoon or picture which served as the See also:model . The heads are individualized, and the folds of the draperies are laboriously worked out in detail . The See also:masonry of buildings, the veinings of See also:marble, and the architectural enrichments are often represented with careful fidelity, and landscape backgrounds are shdwn in every detail . As in the case of the tapestries of the Netherlands—the finest which the world has seen—there can be no doubt that patrons of art and donors, when requiring embroideries to be made, secured the services of eminent painters for the designs . There are many examples of such careful work . A set of vestments known as the ornement de la Toison d'Or, now in the See also: