Tudors, Tutus and Twinkly Bits
One of the London Shire members has what has to be one of the coolest jobs in the world - she's a Textiles Curator at the Museum of London. So on Saturday myself and several other SCAdians got a personal tour of textiles held at the museum (many thanks to Hilary for organising and hosting it!). We all trooped off down to the basement conservation department, donned cotton gloves and got to (very, very carefully) examine several items of period accessories & clothing.
Hilary first showed us a late C.16th shirt/nightshirt thought to have once been owned by Robert Dudley. Those of you who own Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620" would recognise it instantly. Made of linen and embroidered with lots of silver & green and gold & red goldwork, it was absolutely gorgeous. We got to look at the inside of shirt so we could see the backs of the stitching. It was wonderful to see that for once, as books so seldom show those important details. Amazingly enough the silver was still bright and untarnished, shining just as prettily as the gold. For what is thought to be a nightshirt it was amazingly OTT, and considering the density of the embroidery and cost of the gold and silver embroidery threads (silk cores with thin strips of real gold and real silver spiral-wrapped around them), almost unimaginable to the modern mind that someone would sleep in it. Much to my amusement edith-hedingham proposed that this was the owner's "tonight I'm gonna get lucky" shirt.
Other items seen were a couple of later period baby dresses, said to have been worn by Charles I (or II), of linen so fine and sheer it could be mistaken for silk. Apparently this is a common misconception when looking at portraits of the period, that the material is silk, rather than linen. We can't reproduce those fabrics however, as one of the dresses was made from a now-extinct linen plant. The embroidery and sewing on these was tiny and exquisite, and made me despair of even my veil hemming (until it was pointed out I hadn't done it for a full-time living since I was a child). There were also a couple of baby caps from the same period, one being white on white quilting in floral repeating patterns (I know there's a name for that type of embroidery but I can't remember it), which I particularly liked. Thinking how messy babies (even royal babies!) are made me wince a bit however, when thinking of the end use of these lovely little articles.
Another beautiful piece of goldwork we got to see was a red velvet book cover enclosing a C.16th printed Bible, rumoured to have been embroidered by Princess/Queen Elizabeth. This was a design of goldwork floral motifs, spangles and coloured silks, with identical back and front covers, and a matching spine.
We were also shown a C.17th sailor's smock and slops, some medieval to Stuart period shoes and long boots, and a couple of C.16th doublets. Hilary then took us upstairs to the archives - passing on the way Anna Pavlova's Dying Swan costume, which made my inner ten-year-old squee with delight - where we got to see drawer upon drawer of period caps, socks, stockings, and other accessories. I (almost) drooled over a drawer full of the most beautifully embroidered gloves, showing cutwork, goldwork and silk embroidery from the sixteenth & seventeenth centuries. My not-so-secret lust for a pair of those is rearing it's head again...
Afterwards we went and ate lunch in the museum cafe, which offered a good Carrot Cake, tasty Chicken & Lentil soup, mediocre coffee, and the usual expensive museum prices. Then we had a quick squiz in the bookshop, where I bought a new publication, "The Cheapside Hoard" (hoard found in 1912 of 230+ pieces of upper-middle class Elizabethan & Jacobean jewellery & baubles) by Hazel Forsyth. The book is small, brief and illustrated but not particularly thick on photographs unfortunately, although I did pick up a couple of excellent postcards. However I was delighted to hear there's going to be an exhibition on the Cheapside Hoard in 2012, the centenary of its discovery, so something to look forward to. The Hoard is currently distributed between several British museums, although there is a large display of very spiffy pieces at the Museum of London.
Altogether it was a wonderful day which has made me feel much enthused about doing some more embroidery - now I just have to find the time to do so. So, some time after September I expect...
Hilary first showed us a late C.16th shirt/nightshirt thought to have once been owned by Robert Dudley. Those of you who own Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620" would recognise it instantly. Made of linen and embroidered with lots of silver & green and gold & red goldwork, it was absolutely gorgeous. We got to look at the inside of shirt so we could see the backs of the stitching. It was wonderful to see that for once, as books so seldom show those important details. Amazingly enough the silver was still bright and untarnished, shining just as prettily as the gold. For what is thought to be a nightshirt it was amazingly OTT, and considering the density of the embroidery and cost of the gold and silver embroidery threads (silk cores with thin strips of real gold and real silver spiral-wrapped around them), almost unimaginable to the modern mind that someone would sleep in it. Much to my amusement edith-hedingham proposed that this was the owner's "tonight I'm gonna get lucky" shirt.
Other items seen were a couple of later period baby dresses, said to have been worn by Charles I (or II), of linen so fine and sheer it could be mistaken for silk. Apparently this is a common misconception when looking at portraits of the period, that the material is silk, rather than linen. We can't reproduce those fabrics however, as one of the dresses was made from a now-extinct linen plant. The embroidery and sewing on these was tiny and exquisite, and made me despair of even my veil hemming (until it was pointed out I hadn't done it for a full-time living since I was a child). There were also a couple of baby caps from the same period, one being white on white quilting in floral repeating patterns (I know there's a name for that type of embroidery but I can't remember it), which I particularly liked. Thinking how messy babies (even royal babies!) are made me wince a bit however, when thinking of the end use of these lovely little articles.
Another beautiful piece of goldwork we got to see was a red velvet book cover enclosing a C.16th printed Bible, rumoured to have been embroidered by Princess/Queen Elizabeth. This was a design of goldwork floral motifs, spangles and coloured silks, with identical back and front covers, and a matching spine.
We were also shown a C.17th sailor's smock and slops, some medieval to Stuart period shoes and long boots, and a couple of C.16th doublets. Hilary then took us upstairs to the archives - passing on the way Anna Pavlova's Dying Swan costume, which made my inner ten-year-old squee with delight - where we got to see drawer upon drawer of period caps, socks, stockings, and other accessories. I (almost) drooled over a drawer full of the most beautifully embroidered gloves, showing cutwork, goldwork and silk embroidery from the sixteenth & seventeenth centuries. My not-so-secret lust for a pair of those is rearing it's head again...
Afterwards we went and ate lunch in the museum cafe, which offered a good Carrot Cake, tasty Chicken & Lentil soup, mediocre coffee, and the usual expensive museum prices. Then we had a quick squiz in the bookshop, where I bought a new publication, "The Cheapside Hoard" (hoard found in 1912 of 230+ pieces of upper-middle class Elizabethan & Jacobean jewellery & baubles) by Hazel Forsyth. The book is small, brief and illustrated but not particularly thick on photographs unfortunately, although I did pick up a couple of excellent postcards. However I was delighted to hear there's going to be an exhibition on the Cheapside Hoard in 2012, the centenary of its discovery, so something to look forward to. The Hoard is currently distributed between several British museums, although there is a large display of very spiffy pieces at the Museum of London.
Altogether it was a wonderful day which has made me feel much enthused about doing some more embroidery - now I just have to find the time to do so. So, some time after September I expect...