Mary Corbet’s enthusiastic book review of “Ecclesiastical Embroidery Techniques & Projects” by Heather Lewis prompted me to order the book through my local bookstore. Check out Mary’s blog for an inside look at the book. I finally got the call yesterday that the book had arrived. At €42,50 it isn’t cheap, but still good value for money for a hardcover book. So, do I agree with Mary? Yes and no. And here comes my book Read more
Over the past couple of weeks, we have explored several pieces of medieval goldwork embroidery housed in the Cathedral Treasury of Anagni, Italy. Around AD 1300, Pope Boniface VIII gifted his hometown Cathedral spectacular Opus anglicanum, Opus cyprense and Opus romanum paraments. He also gave a beautifully embroidered antependium. Unfortunately, there’s no record of where it came from. It differs in style from the three known ‘opera’ styles present. This piece of medieval goldwork embroidery Read more
This week, we will look at an Opus romanum antependium from the late 13th century kept in the Cathedral treasury of Anagni, Italy. Just like with the Opus cyprense goldwork embroideries from last week, their provenance isn’t as clear-cut as the name Opus romanum suggests. This antependium was never historically referred to as Opus romanum. Only in recent years has it been attributed to this body of work based on stylistic grounds. Apart from Rome, Read more
Where does Opus cyprense medieval goldwork embroidery come from? Simple question, right? After all, Opus anglicanum comes from England, and Opus teutonicum comes from Germany. Thus, Opus cyprense should come from Cyprus! Maybe. Medieval and later church inventories do mention vestments as being Opus cyprense. However, there has been relatively little research conducted on the medieval embroidery tradition of Cyprus. You will find that embroideries labelled as Opus cyprense are described as being made on Read more
This week’s medieval goldwork embroidery tutorial is based on the lovely cope from Hulst, which I wrote about earlier. The border around the orphrey panels is geometric and highly textured. It would look good in any modern piece of goldwork embroidery. As always, my Journeyman and Master Patrons can find a downloadable PDF of the instructions below on my Patreon site. Your continued support means the world to me! Not a Patron yet? Please join Read more
Last week, I probably located a beautiful late medieval goldwork embroidery cope in the Dommuseum Frankfurt to its original church in the Netherlands. This week, I will introduce you to a stunning chasuble cross in the Diocesan Museum Osnabrück, Germany. This is one of these pieces of high-end late medieval goldwork embroidery that not many people know about. The chasuble cross was once part of a vestment at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Osnabrück. Read more
The Star Witness Project by Caren Garfen. The past week saw the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day in my native Netherlands. However, I live in Germany and am of German descent. As Fascism is on the rise again in many countries, I have an important family story to tell—a story that is not often told and that many will find disturbing to read. It is a stark reminder that, although you think you are safe Read more
This week, we continue our exploration of late medieval goldwork embroidery from the Netherlands. I made an exciting discovery on a cope kept at the Dommmuseum Frankfurt in Germany. The Dutch dalmatics I showed you last week ended up in a museum collection in Italy after they were bought at auction. This week’s Dutch cope ended up in the collection of a 19th-century Catholic priest in Frankfurt. And whilst the dalmatics don’t provide any clues Read more
This month, we will focus on late medieval goldwork embroidery from the Netherlands. These can be found in collections and church treasuries all over the world. Like Opus anglicanum in earlier times, late medieval goldwork embroidery from the Low Countries was highly sought after. The embroidery workshops in major centres such as Utrecht, Amsterdam and Haarlem were streamlined through labour division. High-quality mass-produced orphreys were the result. In 2005, the Museo del Castello Buonconsiglio in Read more
In this medieval embroidery tutorial, I will show you how to recreate the lovely female face with the big braids as seen on this 15th-century chasuble. You will practice silk embroidery, padding and beading when recreating this lovely beaded stumpwork portrait of a female saint. Whilst working the medieval embroidery sample using the tutorial on this blog is perfectly possible, my Journeyman and Master Patrons will find a downloadable PDF on my Patreon site for Read more