Not sure how many of you studied last week’s pictures of the Schlosser set of vestments, focusing on the embroidery techniques used. If you did, you might have spotted the same oddities as I did. For starters, there’s the ‘enhancement’ of the faces with oil paint. Not an unusual practice. The Read more
One of the highlights of my museum tour at the end of November last year was the Dommuseum Frankfurt. It has nine medieval embroidered vestments on permanent display. Well worth a visit! At the beginning of the year, I showed you a green chasuble with embroideries from the mid-14th century and the second Read more
This week, I have a goldwork embroidery tutorial for you inspired by a late 15th-century embroidered chasuble kept in the Domschatz of Fritzlar. It has these lovely textured bands or borders between the individual orphreys. The border is made by couching gold threads and coloured silks over string padding. It Read more
When we looked at the embroidered chasuble from Fritzlar with the Virgo inter Virgines iconography last week, I was sure I would find many Doppelgängers. I had seen this iconography many times before, and I was pretty sure that these pieces were all very similar. Nope. They are not. As soon as you Read more
Late last year, I visited the Domschatz of Fritzlar. This small museum displays several embroidered medieval textiles, which you can photograph as long as you don’t use flash. The textiles are extremely well-lit and very close to the display case’s glass. This means that you can examine them very well! Today, Read more
It never ceases to amaze me that, after having studied medieval goldwork embroidery for quite some time now, I still find spectacular pieces that I had never previously heard of. Casual references in the literature lead me to obscure, tiny museums that happen to house a real treasure. The original Read more
We will start the new year with an interesting chasuble I encountered at the Dommuseum Frankfurt. The chasuble features embroidery from Cologne dating to the mid-14th and the second quarter of the 15th century. The museum, housed in the historical cloisters, is well worth a visit. Many medieval vestments are on Read more
Last week, we looked at a mid-15th-century orphrey panel from Venice with an interesting goldwork background on silk. I’ve adapted the design slightly and turned it into a goldwork embroidery tutorial. The stitching is relatively simple but teaches you a few key things when it comes to medieval goldwork embroidery. Read more
Last month, we looked at some early 15th-century embroidery from Venice, Italy. You can read about it here: the Cope of Pope Gregory XII, further early 15th-century embroidery from Venice, and a tutorial. This week, we will look at a Venetian piece from the second half of the 15th century. It features some Read more
FINALLY: three years and one month after I ordered the above title, it finally arrived a couple of days ago. It is the third (and last) volume on a research project regarding the Imperial Vestments kept in Bamberg. I have written two previous book reviews, which you can find here: volume 1 and volume 2. Read more