I have enjoyed looking at Opus Anglicanum embroidery and was lucky enough to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Syon Cope. The quality of the embroidery is amazing and it must have looked magnificent when it was first made. The skills shown in the stitchery are staggering, especially when you consider that the embroiderers would not have had access to all our modern equipment. I have enjoyed practising some of the stitches, which has left me in awe of the exceptional expertise that is needed to make these works of art. I'm not in the least surprised that there was a 7 year apprenticeship.
OPUS ANGLICANUM STUDY
Opus Anglicanum (English Work), is the name given to embroidery made in Medieval England during the 11th to the 14th century. It was created for both secular and ecclesiastical garments, hangings, altar pieces, mitres and other textiles, using gold, silver, silver-gilt and silk threads on velvet or linen ground, embellished with pearls and precious stones. It was also in great demand across Europe due to the outstanding quality of the work. Much of the embroidery from the time has not survived but a few wonderful examples can be found in museums around the world.
Both men and women worked as embroiderers, for the church or under royal patronage. Mainly based in the City of London, the work was organised in workshops, where designers were employed to create the artwork then this was given to the embroiderers to make up. Some designers were embroiderers as well. The workshops were generally directed by men, and the workers, both men and women were expected to complete an apprenticeship of seven years, which was normal for the times. The main stitches they used were Split Stitch, Couching, Underside Couching, Plait Stitch and Tent Stitch. The designs were based around geometric shapes, such as circles, arcading and quatrefoils. Nowadays nothing is known of the designers and little is known about the embroiderers.
The Black Death in the middle of the 14th century marked the end of Opus Anglicanum as many embroiderers and their potential clients died. This was followed by the financial problems caused by the Hundred Years War with France, as well as a change in fashion and demand for ecclesiastical and secular vestments.
The major pieces of Opus Anglicanum that survive are nearly all chasubles or copes. They depict biblical scenes, coats of arms, animals and mythical creatures.
This chasuble, the bell-shaped vestment worn by priests when celebrated Mass, was originally made as a cope. It is embroidered with silver-gilt, silver thread and coloured silks in underside couching and split stitch, with couched work, on blue satin with silk wrap and cotton weft, reinforced with linen. Much of the rich blue background has gone and today only small remnants remain. The design depicts biblical scenes as well as lions and griffin. It was made between 1272-1294, during the marriage of Margaret de Clare and Edmund Plantaganet, Duke of Cornwall. Before being cut down it also featured the arms of Margaret de Clare and Edmund Plantaganet, (as well as the Royal Arms of England), indicating that it was probably used by someone in their household.
Another wonderful example is the Syon Cope, which is semi-circular in shape, and is also on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was created between 1300-1320. It derives its name from the Bridgettine convent of Syon, Middlesex, founded by Henry V in 1414-1415. The cope displays scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin and features very detailed images of Christ and various saints. It has survived because it was taken into exile by the nuns, in the mid sixteenth century and was not returned to England until the early nineteenth century. It has a linen ground covered with embroidery worked in coloured silk threads (mainly red, now faded to brown, and green silk), as well as silver gilt and silver thread.
Another wonderful example is the Syon Cope, which is semi-circular in shape, and is also on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was created between 1300-1320. It derives its name from the Bridgettine convent of Syon, Middlesex, founded by Henry V in 1414-1415. The cope displays scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin and features very detailed images of Christ and various saints. It has survived because it was taken into exile by the nuns, in the mid sixteenth century and was not returned to England until the early nineteenth century. It has a linen ground covered with embroidery worked in coloured silk threads (mainly red, now faded to brown, and green silk), as well as silver gilt and silver thread.
This cope is not in its original form as it was first made as a chasuble. When it was converted into a cope, the orphrey bands, (the front border) and morse, (the fastening strip across the chest), were added. Both the cope and the heraldic orphreys are on linen, worked in silk, silver and silver-gilt thread. The cope is made using split stitch, laid and couched work and the orphreys are made using underside couching, cross and plait stitch.
References:
V and A website
Medieval Craftsmen - Embroiderers - Kay Staniland
Embroidery in Religion and Ceremonial - Beryl Dean
English Embroidery - Barbara Snook
National Archives website
Katherine Diaz Villegas blog
Textile Research Centre, Leiden
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I haven't tried Plait Stitch before. It was quite easy to do when working on a large grid.
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Tent Stitch was also relatively easy to reproduce on a large grid.
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Full of enthusiasm I decided to 'have a go' at Opus Anglicanum! I watched a couple of YouTube videos and based my choice of colours on the figure of the Virgin on the Syon Cope.
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I enjoyed stitching this small sample piece (65mm x 65mm). I worked on a piece of linen that dates from the early twentieth century, backed with a good quality cotton. The face and halo worked out fairly well and I stitched these in embroidery threads, using split stitch and No 6 gold passing for the couching. However the underside couching was another story! The weave on the linen was slightly uneven and very small, so counting threads didn't work. The next problem was working out how many strands of thread to use to make sure that the zigzag pattern was visible but not too uneven. At my fourth attempt I opted for 2 strands of silk floss. In retrospect, one strand might have been more effective, oh well, there's always next time!!
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