Mary M Brooks
Elizabeth Feller Jacqueline Holdsworth
Micheรกl & El iz a b eth Fe lle r t he n eedlew or k c ollect ion : 1
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
Crafting the exemplary woman
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lizabeth Walker is the perfect exemplar of the ideal woman for whom needlework and reading formed an essential part of a devout life. The Rector of Fyfield’s memoir of his wife describes the pattern of her daily life:
Not only is needlework seen as a gainful occupation in its own right, it is also a way of avoiding other, potentially sinful occupations. The 1688 Guide to Ladies, Gentlewomen & Maids containing Directions of Behaviour argues that:
When she had slightly slipt on her Cloathes, she used to go softly in the Chamber…and than at six or after, would she call her Maide, and duly hear one or both read a Chapter, then sit and read herself, till the Servants had what was fit for them …and afterwards dress herself decently with small expense of time: then read, or work
as to working with the Needle, it is both needfull and pleasant, and is commendable in any woman, for it is time well spent for both profit and delight.152
with her Needle, till Family Prayer.147 Such work was not just necessary to produce practical garments, personal accessories or softening and decorative textiles for the home. It was conceived of as a moral act which played an important part in creating the obedient daughter and the godly woman. The message of the frontispiece of James Boler’s collection of pirated needlework designs:148 The Needles Excellency (which includes John Taylor’s poem The Praise of the Needle) makes this clear.149 Three women are shown, again in the open air. The woman representing ‘Wisdom’ is standing holding an open book while ‘Industry’ is seated on the ground, working at her embroidery on a lap pillow. Beside her lies a completed garment, evidence of her commitment and focused work. ‘Idleness’, in rather more elaborate clothing and with a deeper décolletage, holds out a beckoning hand as if to tempt the other two onto the path of folly. Needlework is clearly the path to salvation. In his poem, Taylor is explicit about the moral role of needlework: it should be: To serve for ornament, and not for pride: To cherish vertue, banish idlenesse...150 Artesia, we have learned earlier, finds pleasure in both reading and needlework but the relative contribution imparted through reading and needlework in the creation of the ideal woman was a current debate during the 17th century. In The English Gentlewoman (1631), one of many conduct manuals for the middling sort of woman, the genteel and the would-be genteel, Richard Brathwait explored the formation of the goodly and the godly woman. He ranges widely, discussing (conveniently in alphabetical order) Apparel, Behaviour, Complement, Decency, Estimation, Fancy, Gentility, and Honour. Significantly, the frontispiece presents a woman holding a small book, probably a religious or devotional volume, but in the text Brathwait recognized the importance of needlework as an essential element of the qualities and formation of character, being arguments of her industry [and] memorials of her piety.151
The concept of gaining ‘profit’ through practising the appropriate behaviour of needlework—here bearing the moral implication of storing up virtue and, hence implicitly, achieving heavenly reward— appears repeatedly. The physical act of embroidery was also seen as significant. The author of the Guide admonishes children to sit up straight while they do their needlework so they do not become ‘crooked’.153 The poem found in Barley’s book Curious and strange Inuentions, called the first part of Needleworkes argues that, although the embroiderer’s formal constraint of the body is important, this needs to be matched by a disciplined mind. To gain the full moral benefit, both body and mind should be controlled: in this way the texts would seem to emphasize the strong links between moral behaviour and physical deportment. Sitting at worke cast not aside your looke, They profit small that haue a gazing minde: Keepe cleane your Samplers, sleepe not as you sit, For sluggishnes doth spoile the rarest wit.154 Who knew what the needleworker might be thinking while she sewed? A gazing mind was as unacceptable as a slumping body. Brathwait additionally suggested that embroidery should be used as an opportunity for religious contemplation: Be it in the exercise of your Needle, or any other manuall employment: attemper that labour with some sweet mediation tending to God’s honour.155 Nevertheless, to strict Puritans, spending too much time at one’s embroidery could be a moral fault. Elizabeth Walker’s widower records that, despite her skill, she regarded needlework as an indulgence and weakness, a distraction from her chosen path of household duty and spiritual contemplation: She was Mistress of her needle to that degree, that she would blame herself that she had spent so much time and industry to attain it in worsted, silk and finest Thread…156
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Panel The Judgement of Solomon Mid 17th century 13 cm x 18 cm Stitches: needlepoint lace Materials: linen threads, glass beads, pearls Ground: plain weave undyed linen
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his spectacular piece follows the basic configuration of the Jost Amman print but the steps and lions in the print are not present. Solomon, although facing forward, is seated sidewise revealing details of his chair and cushion. Technically this extremely detailed piece displays great mastery of the medium of needlepoint lace, managing to convey the anguish of the mothers. Small sections of needlepoint have been used to create three-dimensional details such as the leaves, the King’s throne canopy and curtains, and the pattern on the kneeling woman’s dress which is possibly pomegranates and pea pods. The whole design is embellished with over 400 pearls. Black glass beads have been used for eyes. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has an almost identical piece with minor variations in details: picot ‘knots’ instead of pearls ornament the throne curtains, there are no applied motifs on the kneeling woman’s dress, a rabbit not a plant occupies the bottom edge, and a dog, absent on this piece, sits near the little house.80 Mrs Head’s 1921 book discusses a third example, also with slight variants.81 Does the existence of three such similar pieces suggest a schoolroom exercise or possibly some form of workshop production?
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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Mirror Ladies personifying the Senses of Hearing, Touch and Smell Second half of 17th century 51 cm x 49 cm Stitches and Techniques: appliqué, back, beadwork, cut pile, detached needlepoint, knot, long and short, queen, tent Materials: glass beads, feather filaments, linen threads, metal threads (plate), padding (unknown), silk wrapped metal, silk floss and plied silk, wire Ground: satin weave cream silk
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n the later 17th century, mirrors with embroidered panels were fashionable but square examples are relatively unusual.182 The ladies in three corners personify the Senses. Top left, a lady playing a lute strung with metal threads represents Hearing. Top right, a pecking bird on the hand for Touch and bottom right, a flower raised to the nose for Smell. Lower left an elegantly dressed man holds a beaver hat,183 which although not worked sports a silk plume. The low needlepoint collars on the ladies’ elaborate dresses, revealing distinct cleavage, show the embroiderer’s skill in different techniques. Hearing’s lavish floral robe is applied satin worked in raised metal thread. Touch wears a striped gown in raised long and short stitches. Her gown is parted revealing a petticoat of floral motifs worked in metal thread. Smell’s gown is in applied detached needlepoint over a striped petticoat. Equal virtuosity is shown in the creation of miniature sculptural forms such as appliquéd satin faces, the lion and the beadwork leopard. The elaborate, handled vases are also in beadwork, although the one on the left has handles worked in long and short stitches. Both hold flowers in queen stitch, tent stitch and wire detached needlepoint. The fruit and acorns on the trees flanking the castle are worked over small carved forms. Many detached needlepoint sections used for flower petals and insect wings are wired to make them freestanding. The caterpillar near the raised work lion has the iridescent remains of feather filaments.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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Sampler Susanna and the Elders Mid to late 17th century
37 cm x 25 cm Stitches and Techniques: basket, cut and drawn work, detached needlepoint, infilling, needle weaving Materials: coral beads, glass beads, linen threads, wrapped metal threads, pearls, silk floss Ground: plain weave undyed linen
Susanna and the Elders Book of Daniel 13 (and The Apocrypha)
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usanna, a beautiful Jewish woman, was married to a rich Babylonian named Joacim. Two Babylonian judges (Elders) visited Joacim often and became infatuated with Susanna. Mutually confessing their lust, they planned to find her alone. Susanna decided to bathe outside in the privacy of the garden, unaware the Elders were hidden in the garden. They surprised her and threatened to claim she had been with a young man unless she would agree to sleep with them. Susanna rejected their double trap and called for the servants. The Elders’ false claim was believed and Susanna was condemned to death by stoning. Her assertion of innocence and faith was heard by Daniel who challenged the decision. Interrogating the Elders separately, he exposed their lies. It was the Elders, instead, who were stoned to death. Susanna’s virtue and innocence were proved and Daniel’s reputation as a judge was established. The story of Susanna is disturbing and complex but it highlights the importance of faith and integrity. This unusual polychrome band sampler juxtaposes a detailed narrative band with a band mythological creatures, and has more typical
bands of repeating motifs. Both solid and open areas are worked with great virtuosity. Below needle woven swans, the Elders are shown accosting Susanna. Despite what might be considered a quite limiting embroidery technique, Susanna’s contemptuous gaze is marvellously clear. Both the bearded Elders are elaborately dressed with pearl trimmed ribbons at the knee and on their shoes; clearly these are men of wealth and power. Similar techniques have been used to create the band showing two mermaids next to ships and lively fish. The next band is a total contrast. All white, it consists of a geometric pattern of cut and drawn work with a variety of infilling stitches.107 The final band is a narrow, geometric edging having polychrome acorns, stylized flowers and rotated S motifs. The mermaids may be a commentary on Susanna’s story: in the Renaissance, mermaids could represent threatening and uncontrolled female sexuality.108 The presence of the ships suggests these mermaids might be Sirens whose irresistible song lured mariners to their deaths and were thus doubly threatening. Certainly, the Elders’ uncontrolled lust ultimately resulted in their deaths.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
Needlework and reading
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manuel Ford’s 1607 romance The Most Pleasant History of Ornatus and Artesia114 provides a rare glimpse of a woman alone reading and sewing in private. The lovers Ornatus and Artesia suffer tortuous twists of fate, including shipwreck and separation, before achieving marriage and coronation. Long before the happy ending, Ford describes the heroine Artesia, disturbed by dreams. She wakes and takes up her book—thinking by reading to drive away all remembrance therefore, but her heart was so fully possessed with a kind of cogitation… that she could neither read, or when she had read, remember what she did read; and finding this means not available, she started from her bed, opening her casket to take out her sampler, wherein she took most delight, when suddenly she espied the letter.115 This is, naturally, a letter from her lover who has hidden the letter in the casket which Artesia herself had embroidered. Despite the overwrought plot of the romance, the direct
and read by me.120 In contrast to Lady Hoby’s religious reading, Lady Anne’s reading tended to be secular, learned, humanist and cosmopolitan, indicating educated, cultivated and sophisticated literary tastes.121 She records reading silently and privately. However, she also sewed while her staff read aloud. Occasionally, she did her needlework while listening to religious works: I spent my time in working and hearing Mr Rose read the Bible...122 She devoted considerable time to listening to Montaigne, recording on 9 November 1616: I sat at my Work & heard Rivers and Marsh read Montaigne’s Essays, which Book they have read almost this fortnight.123 Reflecting the high level of her education, Lady Anne was clearly fond of the classics, My Coz. Maria read Ovid’s Metamorphosis to me.124 It is tempting to imagine Lady Anne embroidering a story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses while Maria read the stories to her but this is pure speculation. It is only possible to conjecture
realism of this episode is convincing and provides evidence for the private practice of needlework for pleasure and diversion when under emotional stress. Such evidence is, by its very nature, fragmentary. Few women and even fewer men in England then wrote in any detail about their experience of needlework. However, brief references in diaries, conduct manuals, funeral sermons, some fiction and poetry and rare surviving images of females reading or sewing together provide insights into sewing, and show how often it was linked to reading aloud. Clearly, such evidence needs to be subjected to the normal critical evaluation for bias but, even when so challenged, it is possible to see how women from different backgrounds integrated secular or theological reading with what they commonly—and significantly—call their ‘work’. Rather than being a silent and private practice, needlework and reading was communal; a shared oral and aural experience having the potential to fuse the moral, social and educational (and, hopefully, pleasurable) benefits of both activities.
how much, if at all, this extensive reading influenced their choices of embroidery images. The diaries record the books they were reading, not the details of any pictorial embroideries, if any, which they might have been making. Lady Anne occasionally gives some indications of the type of embroidery she undertook. On 15 June 1616 she records that she had wrought very hard and made an end of one of my Cushions of Irish Stitch Work. She finished another on 12th November 1616, helped by the fact that this cushion had been begun by her cousin C. Neville.125 This is rare written evidence of two women embroidering on the same piece of work. There is even less evidence as to what Lady Hoby was working so industriously—presumably she and her maids were attending to the household linen but perhaps she was also stitching decorative elements of her own clothing, an ornamental cushion or pictorial embroidery.
Two well-known diaries of very different women allow the examination of patterns of sewing and reading and the importance of embroidery in their lives. The first, Lady Margaret Hoby (1570/1 to 1633) was a religious woman whose quiet piety and regular examination of conscience was influenced by Calvinism. Twice widowed, her diary starts in 1599, three years after her third marriage to Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby and continues until 1605. Lady Hoby’s diary, in itself evidence of the importance she placed on her inner spiritual life, records her private devotional reading. Lady Hoby very often did her needlework (wrought) while others read aloud. On 1 October 1599 she records: After priuat praier, I wrought a whill and hard (heard) Mr Rhodes read… after [dinner] I walked abroade, then I Cam in and wrought, hard Mr Rhodes read…116 Similar entries are frequent. 12 August 1601 she records her habitual manner of working and being read to: After prairs, I wrought, as I was accustomed, with my maides, and hard Mr Ardington read: and, after I dined and had slept a Little, I went to my worke againe, and hard Mr Ardington again...117 Very occasionally, her reading was political. On 12 May 1601, she noted, after I had praied, Mr Rhodes read the booke of my Lord Esixe treason, and I wrought: and so like wise in the after none.118 She also read practical texts such as an ‘arball’ (herbal) and, rather sadly, given her poor state of health and tendency to depression, Timothy Bright’s Treatise of Melancholie, containing the causes thereof (1586). Set against the turbulent background of the Civil War, Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676) devoted much of her life to challenging her father’s will in order to recover her rights to her vast Westmoreland estates. The only surviving daughter of the 3rd Earl of Cumberland, she was married successively to Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset, and Philip Herbert, the 4th Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. In 1646, finally ensconced in the northern lands for which she had fought for so long, she commissioned an unknown painter to make The Great Picture to commemorate her life. The left panel shows her as a young girl of fifteen, depicting her interests of music, embroidery and study. Her hand rests on a spot sampler next to skeins of embroidery silk while the shelves behind contain the key books of her youth. During her troubled marriage to Dorset she spent much of her time at his Knole estates where her needlework was clearly a consolation to her: it being my chief help to pass away the time to work.119 She sometimes occupied herself with her stitch work while her Lord sat
At the other end of the century, it is clear that Queen Mary and her circle of ladies undertook a variety of needlework projects, including embroidery, knotting and netting. Sadly, no evidence survives to support the traditional association of two embroideries initialled ‘A P’ with Ann Paulet, Lady Wiltshire, one the Queen’s Ladies of the Bedchamber,126 but it is clear that the Queen turned to needlework when reading put her sight at risk and seems to have become almost obsessive about it. Bishop Burnett noted that: ...she found out the amusement of work ... and this with so constant a diligence as if she had been to earn her bread by it. It was a rare thing and looked like a sight to see a Queen work so many hours a day.127 Nine years after her death, the Bishop of Carlisle, William Nicholson, described the embroideries in the Queen’s Closet at Kensington Palace as being of the late queen’s ordering (and joint assistance by) Dutch women.128 It is only possible to track to some degree where such reading and sewing was carried out in the house. Ford describes Artesia reading and sewing in her bedroom. Lady Hoby had a ‘Closett’ as a private space, which she sometimes calls her ‘chamber’, where she seems to have prayed and meditated. In May 1601 she writes: In the morning I praied, hard Mr Rhodes read, and wrought: after diner I went about the house, and kept my Maides tell all most night: then I went in to my Chamber and did some busenis.129 Sometimes intimates joined her in her closet to read to her. On 26 March 1601 she writes, kept my chamber, and, as I was able, I wrought and reede and had Mr Ardington to read to me and Mr Rhodes. This seems to imply that she normally worked and listened to reading out loud in a more public area of her house. Was it possible there was also a difference in the type of needlework she undertook in the more private and public areas of the house? Lady Anne seems to have been read to in her closet, noting rather sadly that, while she was having Mr Sandy’s book read to her, my Lord [was] sitting the most part of the day reading in his closet.130 In her 1621 romance The Countess of Montgomeries, Urania, Lady Mary Wroth describes Princess Dalinae: her ladies who attended her… in a faire compasse Window, where also stood a Chaire, wherein it seemed she had been sittinge, till the newes came of his arriuall. In that Chaire lay a Booke, the Ladies were all at worke; so as it shewed, she read while they wrought.131 It is unclear whether the Princess has been reading to herself or aloud to her maids but she seems to have been sitting apart from her ladies in a more secluded space.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Man’s cap Early 17th century From base to crown: 21 cm Stitches: chain, interlacing, running Materials: wrapped metal thread, sequins, silk threads Ground: plain weave linen
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n embroidered cap such as this was intended for wear indoors rather than in bed.223 Thomas Trevelyon’s manuscript compilation contains designs for men’s caps with scrollwork designs.224 Set within each scrollwork compartment this blackwork cap has a figure of eight knot motif. Was this intended as a lover’s knot? Metal thread chain stitch is shadowed by black silk running stitch, now much lost. The design was carefully planned so that the area behind the turn-up edge remains unembroidered. This turning is edged with metal thread bobbin lace ornamented with tear-drop shaped sequins. The same S wrapped golden metal thread seems to have been used for the embroidery and lace. The cap has a back seam and four short seams on the crown, probably reworked. Formerly in the Hodges of Slowwe House Collection.
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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Lady’s cap Early 17th century From front to back seam 15 cm, face turning 44 cm Stitches: buttonhole, long and short, twisted chain Materials: linen threads, wrapped metal thread, silk floss, sequins Ground: plain weave linen
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his cap has retained a glistening freshness, heightened by the small golden sequins scattered all over the ground. The scrolling goldwork design worked in a twisted chain stitch forms compartments that contain repeating motifs of strawberry, honeysuckle, cowslip, a foxglove-like flower and the distinctive spiked blue borage flower—for the comfort of the heart, to drive away sorrow, & increase the joy of the minde.225 The design has been worked to fit the cap’s shape and, for economy’s sake, the area underneath the turning has not been embroidered. The seam at the back of the cap has undergone later modifications with a sympathetic additional insert worked in the same design but using different techniques.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Panel Esther and Ahasuerus Mid 17th century 33 cm x 43 cm Stitches and Techniques: braid, cut pile, Gobelin, needlepoint, laid & couched work, long & short, tent, appliqué sections (some padded and some wired) Materials: appliqué fabrics (plain weave undyed linen, plain weave pink silk, satin weave white or cream), glass beads—some painted, metal threads (wrapped metal threads, silk-wrapped wire, silk-wrapped coiled wire), mica, pearls, padding (unknown material), linen threads, silk floss and overspun silk, wire Ground: satin weave cream silk
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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ocussing on the moment when Esther pleads to be allowed into Ahasuerus’ presence, this embroidery is dominated by Ahasuerus’ dramatic throne canopy, swirling free-standing curtains and carpet, worked in padded or wired applied sections of tent stitch having a repeating floral pattern. The figures of Esther and the King, together with their attendants, have been constructed in applied and padded sections of needlepoint. Ahasuerus’ free-standing sceptre, which splits into three at the tip, dominates the scene. The core is probably a thick wire covered in close needlepoint and it is clasped firmly in his curled fingers which are constructed from finer wire wrapped in silk floss. Techniques used for constructing faces and clothing indicate graduations in social status of the people represented. Esther and Ahasuerus and their chief attendant (with the plumed hat) have faces constructed of padded applied satin fabric, whereas those of secondary attendants are worked in split stitch.
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Under ceremonial cloaks, lined in plush stitch ‘ermine’, both Ahasuerus and Esther are fashionably dressed for the period when this panel was made and are wearing garments ornamented with pearls. The King’s breeches are decorated with lavish braid knee ribbons, as are those of his chief attendant—possibly Mordecai—who sports wide bucket boots with lace-decorated boot hose worked in linen needlepoint.99 He is also holding a three-dimensional, wide-brimmed, beaver hat trimmed with a worked ‘feather’ plume, whereas a similar hat held by the other courtier to his right is simply embroidered in flat split stitch. It is interesting to note the freedom with which the embroiderer felt she was able to interpret the inked design. This is evident in her decision to make a free-standing sculptural sceptre rather than working the sceptre drawn out on the satin, still to be seen on the fabric, reaching out to Esther’s raised left hand.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Real and imagined landscapes
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t a time when England was becoming increasingly urban, these embroideries often depict couples in idealized pastoral settings which nevertheless reflect the reality of the life of country gentry and reveal links between the city and the country. Within these layers of meaning there is sense both of nostalgia for an imagined Arcadian past, coupled with the aspirations towards a peaceful life away from the painful realities of political, religious and military conflict. The early 17th century saw a boom in country house building and the creation of some great estates. John Taylor’s evocation of Wilton, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke is indicative of the way these houses and their surroundings were viewed. If Wholsom Aire, earth, woods, and pleasant Springs Are Elements, whereby a house is grac’d: If strong and stately built, contentment brings, Such is the house of Wilton, and so plac’d. There Nature, Art, Art Nature hath embrac’d; Without, within, below, aloft compleat: Delight and state, are there so interlac’d With rich content, which makes all good, and great.184 Social mobility and aspiration was in this age, as in so many others, expressed through architecture. But, rather than expressing status through the restraint of classically derived facades, the Elizabethan and Jacobean builder piled on the details—and not all of them were functional. The numerous smoking chimneys seen in these embroideries reflect not just their practical function but also their role as a signifier of wealth; not all were constructed to be functioning chimneys. In the dialogue poem, Debate between Pride and Lowliness circa 1570, the bricklayer defends himself against the charge of poor workmanship in regard to the chimneys:
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
The challenge was both false and slaunderous And want of smoke to be his fault denyed But rather of the dweller in the house Which was no fault in house where he dwelt I built for pleasure chiefly, and for shewe185 Stent’s catalogue included prints of notable houses and castles such as Nonsuch, Oatlands and Theobalds so there was clearly an appetite for seeing pictures of the houses of the great.186 The buildings in the embroideries have sometimes been described as castles but they have common features with 16th and 17th century country houses, often with central gatehouses, domed houses, massed roofs, stepped gable ends, numerous chimneys, all closed round with a stockade or paled fence. During the Commonwealth, these houses came under threat. Women such as Margaret Cavendish found themselves pleading for the restitution of sequestered estates on behalf of their exiled husbands or defending their homes against the militia. Brilliana, Lady Harley resisted the Royalist siege of Brampton Bryan Castle while at Lathom House, another wife, Charlotte Stanley, Countess of Derby held out against the Parliamentarians. These embroidered houses bear out McBride’s contention about the importance of portable representations of the country house. As more people lived in towns separated from the land, the representations became icons of the signifying landscape that served to legitimate authority apart from the land itself.187 There is an unusual similarity between the house worked in a tent stitch panel which has been attributed to Lucy Hutchinson and another house depicted in the painting of a landscape in Llanerch, Denbigshire. This suggests that some of these embroidered houses may have been intended to represent some idea of reality, whether aspirational or actual. The frequency with which embroideries showing couples also include a house reinforces this argument. Whether the embroiderer actually knew—or dreamed of—such a house, including it in her embroidery seems to suggest a certain ideal of life. These embroideries echo the contemporary betrothal engravings and the woodcuts of couples which at that time were used to illustrate ballads.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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Panel Four Continents Mid to late 17th century
41 cm x 51 cm Stitches and Techniques: basket, cut pile, long & short, detached needlepoint, knots, overcast, satin, tent, laid Materials: Glass beads, feather filaments, silk wrapped metal coils, padding (silk floss & unknown), pearl beads, silk floss and overspun silk, wire Grounds: satin weave cream silk, central panel presumably plain weave linen fabric
his impressive panel formerly in the Longridge Collection combines two contrasting styles, showcasing the embroiderer’s mastery of different techniques. The central oval panel, worked in fine tent stitch, presents scenes from rural life: a ploughman encouraging his oxen; a shepherd, with scrip and crook, and shepherdess guarding their flock; one fisherman on the lake, another on the bank; and a group of country people busy around a basket.162 These scenes are framed by a slightly raised oval cartouche with small scale ornamentation in metal thread coils wrapped in green and red silks. Surrounding this inner vignette is an exuberant example of raised work. Four sculptural figures, one in each corner, are posed on their own mound worked in a different technique— laid overspun silk thread, basket stitch, cut pile, laid metal thread coils wrapped in silk and long and short stitch. Their figures are created using appliqué tent stitch, padded and wired to give depth and movement. Each represents one of four continents: America with a bow and arrow,
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clad in feathery plumes accompanied by a fluffy tailed animal; Africa depicted holding a leafy branch, possibly sweet balsam, next to a globe; Europe as a queen holding a book—presumably a Bible—and sceptre, with an elaborately caparisoned horse; finally, with a camel there is Asia, holding a book and censer, her veil scattered with pearls. This depiction of the Continents is close to the figures surrounding a mirror in the Lady Lever Collection (LL5219), which Brooke argues are based on prints by Wither, published first by William Marshall and then re-issued by Peter Stent.163 However, different here is the rainbow and cloud dropping rain upon a castle with sun and moon on either side. In the lower centre is a three-tier fountain that has crowned birds’ head waterspouts. Between these larger motifs are a vine with grapes, a rose, peacock posed with some carnations, two thistles, strawberries, butterflies—all worked in a variety of different flat and raised techniques, and caterpillars (one of which has feather filaments).
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The Micheรกl & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early Samplers : Jacqueline Holdsworth
F431
Spot Sampler 17 May 1652 Signed Mary Dagnall 51 cm x 30 cm Stitches: cross, petitpoint, eyelet, plaited braid, couching, rococo, Gobelin Materials: silk floss, metal wrapped floss Ground: undyed linen
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n 1652, Mary Dagnall, a girl sure of herself and her status, headlined her name in twinkling silver lights across her broad sampler for all comers to admire. Any viewer at the time, and for some time to come until damp and smoke fumes had wreaked their worst, would have been dazzled by the prodigious blocks of glinting gilt and silver encrusting the surface of this sampler. There are five rectangular blocks where silver wrapped silk floss has been worked as background to floral sets, two of which are additionally embellished with gilt braids. A motif without even a gilt knot for eye or flower centre is hard to find here. The braids are worked largely on the surface, but the metallic Gobelin covers both front and reverse of the cloth, making a no-expense-spared statement. Cost aside, there is very good reason, as embroiderers know, for not stitching metal wrapped
thread through the fabric. The repetitive dragging of metal through linen not only distresses the fabric and shreds fibres, but also the narrow strips of metal sheathing the floss become distorted, perhaps rupturing to reveal the white floss beneath. Here, the long Gobelin stitches were worked diagonally over three linen warps and one weft so that no stitch touches or abrades another in the same interstice. Although Mary assembled a number of diapers and patterns well-known from other spot samplers, she has not always played safe and has been bold enough to incorporate some highly individual motifs such as the two floral designs in the centre of her cloth, one enclosed in a block of gilt and the other free-standing. She also shows a predilection for pulled-thread eyelet designs and on this sampler there are four beauties, one of which, worked in pale blue silk and gilt thread, can be seen beneath the strawberries in the detail image above. Who was Mary Dagnall, whose circumstances were such that she could stitch expensive materials in this quantity? Now, it is difficult to be certain, but the Dagnall family came from Tring in Hertfordshire and there are birth and baptismal records for a number of Marys around 1640. It is possible they were related to John Dagnall who was given administration of the estate of the Reverend Lawrence Washington, ancestor of George.
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The Micheรกl & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Other Times, Other Places : Elizabeth Feller
F463 Chatelaine from Mortlake Tapestry Works 17th century Stitches: encroaching Gobelin, split, chain Materials: silk, metallic silver thread Ground: woven silk, wooden forms
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rom the renowned Mortlake Tapestry Works comes this extremely rare 17th century chatelaine. From left to right in the main picture (facing) the set comprises a purse, pin-cushion, set of tassels and sheath. All the pieces are splendidly worked in silks and silver thread, as vibrant and bright today as the day they were produced. The purse, a detail image of which can be seen above, is composed of eight vertical panels, having alternating designs. One design features an owl, the other a drake. Below and above the creatures are a selection of flowers including hurtsickle (centaurea cyanus), clove gillyflower and heartsease. Knife pleats giving a concertina-effect have been created by decorative topstitching with chain and split stitch. Small pendant tassels have been attached around the lower edges and to the base itself
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with pairs of small silver hoops. The slightest movement or vibration sets these tassels in motion, scintillating the silver and giving an impression that they have a life of their own. The larger tassels which terminate the drawstring are formed around central cores of carved wood that have been covered with intricately worked, encroaching Gobelin stitch. Each tassel is complete by three pendant tassels worked in braided silver and knotted pink thread. The drawstrings are plaited silk braid with metal running stitch. In the centre of the main picture can be seen the pincushion, which has the drake centrally placed on a field of horizontal and vertical flowers. At each corner are again small tassels fixed with silver hoops. The sheath, on the right, has two owls perched on their respective trees, below them, as the sheath tapers, the design becomes exclusively floral. An almost identical sheath is shown on plate XXI in the book Domestic Needlework by G Saville Seligman and E Talbot Hughes. On either side of the pincushion are the two unattached tassels, which match this set. These were most probably intended for a bag that would be filled either with various sweet-smelling herbs or sweetmeats. Mortlake Tapestry Works was famous for its fine and expensive tapestries until production finally ceased in the early 18th century. Situated on the River Thames, it was established by Sir Francis Crane in 1619 and drew upon the expertise of skilled Flemish workers.
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
Learning the skills
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he sheer quantity of surviving examples, whether dress accessories, household textiles or the decorative embroideries referred to at the time as ‘curious works’, attest to a conspicuous consumption of leisure, and luxurious and expensive materials by both girls and women. Where and how did they learn their skills? This extraordinary output of needlework in 17th century England is paralleled by the gradual growth of female literacy24 despite the generally lower intellectual level of education in comparison to the humanist education received by earlier élite women25, and the growing antagonism towards intellectual women. Margaret Cavendish noted bitterly that the breeding [i.e. education] of men were after a different manner of ways from those of Women.26 Whatever the differences and quality in their education, the number of boarding schools increased during the century, both in London and the provinces.27 Some, like Mrs Chaloner’s school, were in Chelsea
Boarding schools had a mixed reputation. Batchiler notes that some considered them most dangerous places, which corrupt the manners of youth35 while the Puritan Joseph Lister refused to work in a Hackney school.36 Some considered that neither the limited learning nor the elegant needlework skills were appropriate for the non-elite girl’s station in life. Thomas Powell in his 1631 Tom of All Trades. Or the Plaine Path to Preferment argued that the education of girls should be focused on practical abilities: For working in curious Italia purles, or French borders, it is not worth the while. Let them learne plaine works of all kind, so they take heed of too open seaming In stead of Song and Musicke, let them learne Cookery and Laundrie. And in stead of reading Sir Philip Sidneys Arcadia, let them read the grounds of good huswifery. I like not a female Poetresse at any hand. Let greater personages glory their skill in musicke, the posture of their bodies, their knowledge
while others were based north of London, which was considered to be healthier.28 Girls of many social ranks, from the élite to merchants’ and citizens’ children, were sent to be ‘finished’ at Hackney schools.29
in languages, the greatenesse, and freedome of their spirits, and their arts in arreigning of mens affections, at their flattering faces. This is not the way to breed a private Gentlemans Daughter.37 Matching skills for a girl’s station in life was clearly important. Dr Denton made it clear that his daughter Frances did not need to learn fancy ‘curious’ embroidery but only functional sewing: Besides the language which will come of course, I desire especially that she should learn to read and write it... As for her needle, my highest ambition was never above a plain stitch, but to learn to cut out as much as you will that she may be either seamstress or taylor, anything to get a living by.38
The stress on ‘work’ in the curriculum suggests much decorative embroidery was probably made at these schools. Although girls were usually taught reading, writing and French, focus centred upon the acquisition of socially acceptable skills such as dancing, music and embroidery—elaborate embroidery not practical sewing skills. This echoes the argument put forward in the late 16th century in an untitled poem in Barley’s A book of Curious and strange Inuentions. Here, needlework is equated to intellectual learning for women; a challenge suitable to their gender. It is interesting that, though this argument explicitly discounts women’s mental ability (the study of alchemy and the liberal arts were considered too difficult and possibly unhealthy for females), needlework is accorded similar value, having its own ‘knowledge’ and requiring equal dedication: But farre vnfit for tender women kinde, Such toylesome studies altogether be: Although their wits most sharp & swift we finde, Yet with their strength these things do not agree: Their milke white hands the needle finer fits, With silke & gold to proue their pregnant wits, In needle works there doth great knowledg rest. A fine conceit thereby full soone is showne: A drowsie braine this skill cannot digest, Paines spent on such, in vaine awaie is throne: They must be carefull, diligent and wise, In needle workes that beare away the prise30
Those who did not go to school learnt needlework at home. Passing the skills from mother to daughter was integral to a girl’s education but could also indicate the closeness of the maternal bond. Mrs Walker preferred teaching her daughters at home to avoid exposing them to the vanities they might acquire at boarding school, and taught them their needle skills with the help of the servant.39 In her memoirs of a life filled with incident and adventure, including riding through battlefields and braving storms at sea, the Royalist Lady Ann Fanshawe (née Harrison) recalled her early education: Now it is necessary to say something of my mother’s education of me, which was with all the advantages that time afforded, both for working all sorts of fine works with my needle, and learning French, singing, lute, the virginals, and dancing, and not withstanding I learned as well as most did, yet was I wild to that degree, that the hours of my beloved recreation took up too much of my time, for I loved riding in the first place, running and all active pastimes: in short, I was that which we graver people call a hoyting girl.40 Erondelle’s French—English teaching dialogues include a vignette of Madame Valdory checking on her daughters’ progress with their needlework, revealing some of the tensions that might arise between mothers and their daughters. It is interesting that Erondelle considered this female activity together with its associated vocabulary sufficiently significant to include in his textbook:
Hannah Playford ran a north London school. Girls attending there learnt dancing (as might be expected since John, her husband, published The English Dancing Master in 1651) and all manner of Curious Works31 which might justly be said to include ‘fine conceits’. Susan Nicholas’ school bill in 1639 reveals a concentration on embroidery, listing alongside a pair of shoes at one shilling and ten pence, watchett sattin for her Sweet Bagge and an ounce of silver thread at five shillings and four pence.32 The number of girls attending school was considerable; John Batchiler claims that 800 girls attended the Perwichs’ boarding school in Hackney during the brief
Madame Valdory: Fleurimonde, showe me your works: is this your Cut-work? Me thinketh that there is somewhat amisse: I espie a fault in it, the edge is reasonablie well made: is this your net-work? See how she frowneth! If I begin with you I will make you leave that frowning: & you Charlotte where is your work? Are your tapestrie cushens ended? Charlotte: I have but one cushen to do. I lacke silke. I know not what is become of ye cushen canvas all my golde and silver is done, I want more blacke yarne, I have not enough of blewe cruell.41
time Susanna, their daughter, taught there.33 Susanna’s expertise was formidable: not only was she a renowned musician and dancer and skilled at accountancy and calligraphy, she also was perfectly skilled in: All other parts of excellent breeding... whatever curious Works at the needle, or otherwise can be named, which Females are wont to be conversant in, whether by silver, silks, straws, glass, wax, gum, or any other of the like kinde...34
For those who had rejected early instruction, it was possible to learn in later life. Hannah Woolley used her books as marketing tools to invite readers to consult her reasonably priced lessons in their own homes so they could learn feminine arts, including needlework and cookery.42
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F470
The MicheĂĄl & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Box Flora, scenes of metamorphosis and a pastoral Mid 17th century 24 cm x 32 cm x 27 cm Stitches and Techniques: appliquĂŠ, detached needlepoint, knots, Gobelin, laid, long and short, plaited braid stitch, queen, raised work, satin, split stitches, stem, tent Materials: feather filaments, metal threads (coiled metal, silk wrapped coiled metal, silk wrapped wire), padding (unknown), silk threads (floss, plied, plied wrapped cord and overspun) Grounds: plain weave undyed linen, satin weave cream silk, plain weave silk ribbon, parchment lace
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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his oblong box, formerly owned by HRH The Princess Margaret, has a deep lid and fall front, handles on both sides, a front key plate in the form of a winged escutcheon and gilded bun feet. Each face is ornamented with broad lace, glued down over a green ribbon. Inside, can be found a long bottom drawer and three smaller drawers. The lid lifts to reveal a mirror on its reverse. Also inside are blue velvet or woven silk fittings, which include a tray containing two metal-topped containers (possibly once intended for ink and sand), small glass bottles, a block perhaps intended to hold rings and another solid block, which may have been a pin cushion. Concealed is a secret drawer. The central well is edged with mirrors reflecting an engraving of a village scene. Covering the base is a marbled paper bearing the monogram of HRH Princess Margaret. The embroidery in the lid shows Flora, identifiable by her flower headdress, set against a background of buildings, within an elaborate metal work cartouche. This panel is of the type associated with the workshop of John Nelham, a professional embroiderer based in
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London.157 Two panels show scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.158 The front fall panel shows Apollo chasing Daphne. Her transformation just starting, she sprouts leaves from hands and head.159 Narcissus gazing at his reflection in a well that is replenished from a snake-headed fountain,160 and the flower into which he is transformed sprouting by the well, are shown on the right side panel. On the left side panel is Alpheus chasing the nymph Arethusa. Dinah, floating above, protects Arethusa by changing her into a fountain.161 The back shows a pastoral scene of a shepherd piping to his sheep, his bagpipes by his feet. Other motifs include a dramatic fish, birds, butterflies, one possibly worked with threads including feather filaments, a rabbit, squirrel, a peacock, pansies and borage. A wide variety of stitching techniques have been employed including applied sections of detached needlepoint, flat stitches and raised metal thread work. Underdrawing is visible where embroidery threads have been rubbed and lost, especially in places where hands would have come into contact with the box.
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F472
The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
Small bag with floral motifs Early 17th century Initials: D P 11 cm x 11 cm Stitches: Gobelin, tent Materials: silk floss, wrapped metal thread, wooden formers Ground: plain weave linen with plain weave ribbed silk lining
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n this small bag, the tent stitched motifs are set against a background of metal thread work. One face bears the initials D P worked next to a butterfly with carefully detailed wings. Borage and a daffodil-type flower fill the central space with a large crouching rabbit in the bottom right corner. The other face has a range of flowers, including a carnation, with two birds, one probably a kingfisher, placed amongst them. Still present is the original pink silk lining. A double drawstring finishes with ‘plumb-bob’ tassels worked in silk and metal threads over wooden formers and terminating in three smaller tassels with Turk’s head knots. The tassels along the bottom edge, consisting of a loop with three small Turk’s head knots attached by a second metal thread loop, are original.
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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The Micheál & Elizabeth Feller Needlework Collection : 1
The Early English Works : Mary M Brooks
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omen’s coifs and caps were informal indoor wear for women or could be worn outdoors under a hat. Caps could be bought ready-made, apparently available in different qualities. When Frances, Countess of Hereford, specified that her steward should purchase a cap for her from Mrs Price in the Strand, London, she told him to make sure it was of black silke and golde and silver and must be a very fair one and not grossely wrought.216
F369
Coif and forehead cloth Early 17th century
Forehead cloth: 23 cm x 22 cm x 34 cm Coif: 23 cm x 40 cm Stitches: chain and double chain, Ceylon, corded trellis, interlaced knots, ladder Materials: spun silk floss, metal threads (wrapped, silver gilt and silver) Ground: tight even plain weave undyed linen
Equally, it would have been possible to have a design drawn up by a professional pattern drawer to be worked at home. Sometimes it is possible to match designs on surviving pieces with those in pattern books of the time, like those printed by William Barley217 and Richard Shorleyker.218 One example is the holly leaf design worked on a coif now in the Embroiderer’s Guild collection which is similar to a pattern found in Shorleyker’s book.219 The rarity with which this correspondence occurs, however, demonstrates the designer’s fertile imagination and the rich variety of patterns in use.
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This coif has survived, unusually, with its matching forehead cloth, which seems to have been worn pinned to the coif. It appears that the point could be worn facing either forwards or backwards and could be worn either in the house or outside.220 Arnold notes that Fynes Moryson’s comment on forehead cloths such as our women use when they are sicke suggests a particular association with illness.221 Both pieces have a regular overall scrolling design upon which there is an alternating repeat of patterned rows. The first repeat comprises a rose, carnation and borage associated with leaves, pea pod, caterpillar and bird; while the second repeat is composed of a rose, carnation and daffodil associated with buds and leaves. Each repeat is displaced one from the other by one motif bringing liveliness to the design. The under drawing and needle holes can be seen in some areas where black silk has been lost. The back seam has been unpicked to allow the coif to lie flat although the drawstring remains. These items were formerly in the Mansel-Pleydell Collection.