In today’s blog, we will examine the so-called Cappa leonis held in the Cathedral Treasury of Aachen, Germany. A perfect example of more is more. It was likely used as the coronation mantle for Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, crowned in AD 1349 in Aachen and Charles V, Holy Roman Read more
Today, I am sharing a free medieval embroidery pattern with you. Late last year, I visited the Treasury of the basilica of St Servatius in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Among the display cases with medieval textiles sat this very damaged alms purse. Colours faded and threads fallen out. When I studied Read more
The Cathedral Museum of Pisa, Italy, holds an Opus ciprense embroidery in the form of a large antependium. We’ve already visited this museum to study the cope of Gelasius II. What makes this 14th-century antependium so special is that it is one of only three pieces of surviving Opus ciprense: Read more
The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo di Pisa exhibits a magnificent piece of 14th-century Italian embroidery. It is known as the cope of Gelasius II, who was pope from AD 1118 to 1119 and consecrated the Pisa Cathedral. As you can tell from the dates, a 12th-century pope cannot wear a Read more
Let’s trace changes in embroidery techniques from the 14th to the 16th century by examining a popular biblical story. The scene of Noli me tangere (touch me not), in which Mary Magdalene visits the grave and finds it empty, is one of my favourite biblical scenes rendered in medieval embroidery. Read more
Today’s embroidery tutorial was inspired by the tablecloth of the Last Supper in a 14th-century Italian embroidery. By couching down a pair of twisted cream silk threads with a thin, untwisted cream silk thread, it looks as if the tablecloth is made of damask. This is a clever way to Read more
In my current exploration of Opus florentinum goldwork embroidery, I came across an orphrey fragment that puzzles me. Firstly, what does it depict? Is this the Lamentation of Christ as the museum caption suggests? Or is this the Entombment of Christ? And why is the embroidery executed the way it Read more
Opus florentinum is a style of embroidery that is characterised by the use of split stitch and surface couched gold thread. It flourished in the 14th and 15th centuries, and its products could and can be found in church treasuries all over Europe. Just like Opus anglicanum, Opus florentinum has Read more
The Musée de Cluny presented a lovely collection of embroidered alms pouches from the 14th century in its 2019/2020 exhibition. Some were definitely made in Paris; others were made in cities elsewhere in France known for their embroidery workshops, such as Toulouse, Lyon, and Tours. Although the names under the Read more
A beautiful mitre attributed to Jean le Noir (and his daughter Bourgot) was exhibited at the Musée de Cluny in 2020. When I walked into the Museu Episcopal the Vic many years later, I saw a similar mitre on display. Looking both mitres up in the literature, confirmed that art Read more