Heraldry Follow-Up

Thanks to all of you who have been helping me unlock the clues of the Petit Point Heraldic mystery I mentioned last post.  Since then, we have had many discussions about potential ideas for what images used within the embroidery might mean.

I took Rachel Wright's advice and wrote to the College of Arms in London.  I had no idea that such an institution exists.



The officer in waiting, Clive Cheesman, responded within a day, which is very impressive in itself.

I repeat it for you in full as it's quite interesting...


Dear Ms. Elliott,

Thank you for your enquiry to the College of Arms, which has come to me as officer in waiting at the time of its arrival.

This is certainly a very lovely item; I can see why you were drawn to it.  You are quite right that the lion and unicorn supporters recall those of the the Royal coat of arms, and indeed that must have been a quite conscious reference on the part of the person who did it.  But other than that I am inclined to agree with your husband that it is not genuine heraldry, but a heraldic-style fantasy.  Points to note are:

• the shield and crest between the supporters are not those of the Royal arms, and (though this could just be a mistake) the lion on the shield faces the wrong way for heraldry;
• the supporters hold banners which they do not in the Royal arms (except the Scottish version of the Royal arms, where however they are the other way around -- unicorn on the left);
• the items on the banners are not clear but do not resemble anything from the Royal arms, and the banner on the right does not observe the heraldic rule against colour-on-colour by having a central blue stripe on a red background;
• the shields in the lower corners are roughly mirror versions of each other with a couple of other differences, which suggests to me they were chosen and disposed for aesthetic reasons (and perhaps as a test of embroidery) rather than as true representative heraldry.

The prominence of the date 1526 is a bit odd and makes me think that something more than just a heraldic-style jeu d'esprit or whim is going on here, and it would be interesting to see if that leads to anything (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1526 doesn't offer anything terribly promising, I must admit).  But even if it commemorates some event it does not make me think that the heraldry is genuine; for one thing, in 1526 the kingdoms of England and Scotland were still quite separate and the lion and the unicorn had not come together as supporters.

Sorry not to be more help.  But it still is a very interesting item, and well worth a bit of research and thought.

Yours sincerely,

Clive Cheesman

C.E.A. Cheesman, MA, PhD, FSA

Richmond Herald

College of Arms

Queen Victoria Street

London

There seems to be a consensus that the embroidery is a decorative piece of some sort and I suspect it isn't too terribly old.  As petit point goes, it's quite lovely and perhaps it was a souvenir kit brought back from a trip to England by someone or it was just a pretty kit with a tapestry feel to it as some of you have suggested.

When I get a few minutes, I plan to call the Antique Mall and see if I can track down the woman I bought it from.  Perhaps she can shed some light on its prior owner.

Thanks again to all of you for helping.  It's been a fun exercise.  

Heralding Petit Point

Antique malls are akin to nature walks, libraries and museums in my book.  

The panoply of objects that owners once treasured and then discarded is a continuous source of amusement and interest to me. You never know what you will find.

When Jim and I were visiting Dad, we had the pleasure of discovering an absolutely wonderful treasure trove, the Shirley Street Antique Mall in Naples, FL.   It's home to Homer Helter's, the largest military antique mall in Florida...a fact that becomes apparent when you walk through the back door and are greeted by a table full of veterans and friends who gather there on a daily basis.  They were a welcoming band of brothers and offered a chair, a cup of coffee and fellowship to my Dad while Jim and I went treasure hunting.

It didn't take long before I spotted this 6 inch square example of petit point embroidery...

It is petit point stitched with silk floss on silk gauze at 44 stitches to the inch. 

The strange thing about this piece was that I had seen the exact same fragment a couple days before at another Antique Mall in Naples but didn't buy it because it was three times as much.  It was also dirtier and much more faded than this one.

I took that as a sign from the universe.  I mean, what's the likelihood that you see two pieces that are so distinct within one week of each other?  It was meant to come home with me.

Since being back, I've scoured the internet trying to find any information that might unlock the secret of its progeny or history.

Its original frame seemed to be from the 1940s.  When I took the piece out of the frame, I was sad to see that the fragment had been glued to a cardboard backing.

The edges are frayed and the piece does appear to be a fragment.

The image seems to be heraldic in nature, with a lion salient on the left and a unicorn on the right both holding banner poles in front of a tournament tent.  Through a parting in the tent curtain, there's a red shield emblazoned with a lion rampant and a plumed helm and visor...

The lion and the unicorn in this configuration bring to mind the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.  

There are quite a number of crests in the piece. In addition to the main red crest in the bottom center, there are four in the corners and two more resting against each other atop the opening in the tent.

There are two banners suspended from the flag poles...

And the date "1526" below the flag on the left...

If any of you can help me understand a bit more about the history of this piece, I would be very grateful.  Jim tends to think it's merely a pretty design created in a heraldic style.  Perhaps he's right.  That might explain why I saw another similar one in the same town.  Of course, they woman who sold it to me could have had a pair and a stall in the other antique mall we visited...but I didn't think to ask that at the time.

All in all, it's just lovely.  The background bounty of bright flowers stitched in soft, romantic colors, brings to mind jousting, knights, and the favors of noble ladies.  It's all very romantic indeed.  I wish I knew more.

Happy Heralding!

American Schoolgirl Embroideries: Part II

I've been on a bit of a tangent lately, researching the background for a few embroideries that I viewed at the Lessons Learned:  American Schoolgirl Embroideries exhibit currently showing at the Baltimore Museum of Art through May.

Of the twenty embroideries on exhibit, many of them were silk and chenille with classical, biblical or literary themes, a common approach in schools at the time.

Last post, I went into some detail on the Queen of Sheba embroidery.  Today, I'd like to share another embroidery which drew my attention...

Caroline, the Heroine of Lichtfield, 1817
silk ground, silk embroidery threads, silk chenille, paint, cotton lining
Unites States, possibly Maryland, Easton

The embroidery depicts the heroine of an eighteenth century best-selling novel, Caroline of Lichtfield or Memoirs of a Prussian Family, originally published in French (1786) by author Isabelle de Montolieu, later translated into English by William Holcroft and published in Britain, and eventually released in the United States in 1798.

The story pre-dates Jane Austen, yet deals with a familiar plot line of a young heiress eventually deciding to marry a man she had previously thwarted due to facial deformity, recognizing his virtue as   his most attractive and marriageable feature.

The embroidery is framed by a wonderfully painted mat with cornucopias full of flowers...

And fruit...

And butterflies flitting about...

It is dated and signed at the bottom, "Julia Ann Thomas's work" with the date 1817...

With the name Easton also included.  Easton happens to be a small town on the Eastern shore of Maryland where a woman named Julia Ann Thomas was known to have taught at the Easton Female Academy.

Elements of the design and stitching however are characteristic of the styles from the Moravian schools in Pennsylvania and North Carolina but no record of a Julia Ann Thomas has been found.

As I studied the pictures I had taken, I began to wonder about the main character of the embroidery, Caroline of Lichtfield (not Litchfield in England, but Licthfield, a fictitious Prussian estate); sitting at the edge of a lake, book set aside and lost in thought...

With mountains painted in the background...

And an anthropomorphic representation of her dog by her side...

It was this adorable rendering of Caroline's faithful companion that led me to start researching the story to find if this little guy had a name and why a young woman in 1817 would find the story worthy of memorializing in embroidery.  The text is available but quite expensive.  Luckily, I found this hardcover version on Amazon with a great deal of the novel available for preview.

I had to stop reading in order to write this so I still have not found any more information about the dog but I have learned that Mary Wollstonecraft read and admired the book calling it the 'prettiest thing she had ever read' and Jane Austen also read it and called it 'beautiful'.

From what I have read so far, it is a novel with a young and naive heroine, raised on a country estate, far from the sophistication of court and ready to marry a Prince Charming.  The "prince" suitor proposed by her father is hardly dashing and young but rather an older man with a facial deformity and an Ambassador to Petersburg...

What ensues is melodrama surrounding two suitors, one young, handsome and ardent; the other is older, wiser and of tested virtue.  You get the gist.  Thanks to Jane Austen, we know the type of story quite well even though Ms. Austen published some twenty years or so after this novel was written.

From what I can tell, it was the chick lit of the day and it was widely read and very popular.  The embroidery itself is as charming as the novel and I am grateful to Ms. Thomas for introducing me to Caroline.

Another embroidery that caught my eye was also inspired by popular literature of the day, in this case, James Thomson's epic poem, The Seasons (1730).  James Thomson was Scottish and one of the leading poets in 18th century literature; primarily known for The Seasons, a four-part poetic work about nature and its cyclical transformations.

The work was very popular and inspired mezzotints like the one by Laurie and Whittle (1794) entitled Spring...

It was the illustration above that provided the inspiration for the embroidery titled Spring below, embroidered by Maria Antoinette Dorsey, possibly in the Moravian Seminary for girls at Lititz or Bethlehem.

Spring, 1825-1830.  Stitched by Maria Antoinette Dorsey
silk ground, silk embroidery threads, watercolor, linen lining
United States, possibly Pennsylvania

Glare from overhead lights made pictures of this work nearly impossible.  In comparing the illustration with the embroidery, did you notice that the man was excluded from the needled version?

Now why do you think that was?

Speaking of women, did you happen to read this article in the Wall Street Journal reviewing Women After All by Melvin Connor, a professor of Anthropology at Emory University?  It was a triumph for women, IMHO, largely due to the fact that both the review and the book were written by men.  Check it out.  It's worth your time.

Happy Monday.  Happy Spring.

American Schoolgirl Embroideries: Part I

A week or so ago I had the pleasure of attending Lessons Learned: American Schoolgirl Embroideries at the Baltimore Museum of Art; an exhibition of samplers and silk embroideries made by American girls from schools in Maryland and the East Coast in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Detail from the Queen of Sheba embroidery, 1819, Baltimore Museum of Art

With just over 20 pieces, the exhibition has significant breadth, including works that were not only varied in subject matter but used a wide-range of materials as well.   There were quite a number of silk embroideries, many of which included metal and hand-painting.  If you live nearby, it runs through May 2015 and is well worth the trip.  Admission to the museum and exhibition is free of charge.

There was one embroidery that just knocked my socks off and it was quite large (approx. 3'x5');  a rendering of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon...

Queen of Sheba, 1819, Baltimore Museum of Art.
Embroiderer:  M.B. (American, dates unknown) at Ann Elizabeth Gebler Folwell's School, United States, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.  Silk ground; silk chenille, silk and wool embroidery threads; metallic purl and sequins; glass beads and gems; paint.  

I did a little research on the Queen of Sheba tale since I was curious as to why a girl or her teacher might have chosen this subject to embroider.

I didn't really know too much about the story other than that it appears in the Old Testament.   Depending on which version you consult, the short narrative goes something like this:

And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.(I Kings 10 v.1-13)

The historical popularity of the tale seems an enigma of sorts with various differences and meanings attributed to Jewish, Islamic, Christian and Ethiopian traditions.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Giovanni Demin, 1789-1859

It does seem that Sheba came from the ancient area of Saba which is modern-day Yemen; Sheba is thought to have been Ethiopian (That would make her skin brown which is not how she is portrayed in the examples set forth here today.  hmmm.).  In Christian tradition, some say that the tale presaged the adoration of Christ since Sheba brought to Solomon the same gifts as the Magi.

I didn't find any solid answers but I think if I were a young girl, I might be attracted to stitching the tale because of all the references to gold, gems and royalty.  After all, she got to use gold threads, glass "gems", beads, silk and chenille to stitch her picture.



In the 18th and 19th century, even girls of modest means were taught sewing and simple embroidery stitches on samplers.  Families that could afford it could pay an additional fee over and above the cost of academics for their daughters to receive advanced needlework instruction at boarding or day schools.  After completing their coursework, girls would return home with an elaborate sampler or elegant picture to present to their parents as proof of their accomplishment.  

This Queen of Sheba scene was drawn by Ann Elizabeth Gebler Folwell's husband, Samuel, who was a professional artist.  After his death, their son Godfrey, painted the faces, sky and other details.

One Jewish version of the story says that the Queen mistook the shiny marble floor as a pool of water and lifted her dress, showing off her legs.  Evidently she was reprimanded, not for the immodest display of her gams but for the fact that they were overly hairy.

I checked the embroidery to perhaps find some proof of this...

But alas, found none.

The plush, silk chenille carpet beneath the Queen's feet...



Contrasted beautifully with the flat silk embroidery of the black and white tile...

The lions resting at the foot of the stairs are wonderfully wrought with their padded paws, bushy eyebrows, and manes of chenille.  

Even the stairs were opulent with goldwork swirls amidst lines of clear glass beads...

This is the first piece I've seen that contained so much chenille thread.  It must have come on huge spools for use at the school.  The chenille threads were much finer than any that I have found commercially available today.

Note the use of the chenille thread in stitching the column below...

Changing the direction of the stitches changes the way that the light reflects off the thread which gives the column its dimension.

Despite the allure of all the Queen's riches, my favorite part of the embroidery is this urn which stand atop the trompe l'oeil marble column...



Something about the muted roses, the hint of blue and the dust green garland set against the silver gray of the urn...

Manifests a faded elegance worthy of a Queen.

(To be continued...)

Three Faves from the Diligent Needle Exhibit

The great thing about visiting museums is that I never know what will strike me when I go.  Yet invariably,  each time I visit there is always something that sets my heart racing and my mind spinning with new ideas and desire.

It's most definitely fodder for the creative soul and so I give you the three pieces that made an impression on me when I visited the Diligent Needle exhibit at Winterthur Museum this past weekend.

By far, this drawnwork and needlelace sampler was my absolute favorite and it hasn't left my mind since I've gotten home...

Note the drawnwork flower basket that overreaches the stitched sawtooth border.  

Worked by Jane Little in 1793, probably in Chester County, Pennsylvania...

It is stitched with silk thread on linen ground.

And the basket combines embroidery with drawnwork and silk ribbon accents...isn't it sweet?

As are the drawnwork and needlelace flowers that it contains...

The ruched silk ribbons that were used to border the needlelace flower medallions just add to the loveliness of this sampler.  

My second favorite is this wool and silk needlework picture on canvas most likely stitched in America or Britain between 1880-1910...

I was struck by the filament silk over a petit point-style tent stitch.  I'd never seen the two combined like that and it gave me pause...

But check out this close up of the butterfly in the upper right corner.  Though I imagine that the colors have faded over time, the shading gives movement to both the butterfly and the background.    And the way that the eye of the butterfly is stitched gives it an anthropomorphic appearance.

There were lots of artistic choices made by the stitcher in this piece that elevated the work beyond a mere embroidered representation of a picture.  

Lastly, there was this silk bedcover professionally embroidered in England or France in the 1800s.

The central medallion depicts an ancient emblem known as the "pelican in her piety"...

A symbol of self-sacrifice associated with motherhood.

The rest of the bedcover is floral vines beautifully rendered.  

The spiky sepal of this rose is wonderful...

The Diligent Needle exhibit runs through July 5, 2015.  I hope you get a chance to travel there yourselves.

Happy stitching everyone!