Introduction to English Embroidery

english embroidery, ecclesiastical embroidery, silk, velvet

  • Woman's embroidered coif (cap), 1600-25. Museum no. T.27-1975

    Woman's embroidered coif (cap), 1600-25. Museum no. T.27-1975

    Woman's embroidered coif (cap)
    England
    1600-25
    linen, silk & silver-gilt, thread
    Museum no. T.27-1975

    Woman’s coif embroidered in blackwork, English, early 17th century.

  • The Oxburgh Hangings, panel

    The Oxburgh Hangings, panel, Mary Queen of Scots, assisted by Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, about 1570. Museum no. T.33II-1955

    The Oxburgh Hangings, panel
    Mary Queen of Scots, assisted by Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury
    England
    about 1570
    linen canvas, embroidered with gold, silver and silk in tent stitch
    Museum no. T.33II-1955

    These panels of silk cross stitch on exposed linen ground, with couched threads in a swirling design, were originally appliqued to a velvet ground. The design of birds, animals and fish is based on the illustrations to Conrad Gesner's Icones Animalium, [] published in Zurich in 1560. The panels were embroidered by the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots, assisted by Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, and eventually hung in Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, from where they acquired the name of the Oxburgh Hangings.

  • Gentleman's nightcap, early 17th century

    Gentleman's nightcap, early 17th century, Museum no. 2016-1899

    Nightcap
    England
    early 17th century
    Linen, embroidered with silver-gilt, silver and silk thread, trimmed with silver-gilt bobbin lace
    Museum no. 2016-1899

    This early 17th-century gentleman’s nightcap illustrates the range of embroidery stitches that a domestic needleworker might be expected to know. The cap is made of linen embroidered with silver, silver-gilt and silk thread in detached buttonhole, plaited braid, satin, chain and speckling stitches. It has couched work, knots and spangles and is trimmed with silver-gilt bobbin lace.

  • Sampler, Sarah Blake

    Sampler, Sarah Blake, 1664. Museum no. 570-1898

    Sampler
    Sarah Blake
    England
    1664
    linen embroidered with silk in double running, cross, two sided cross & Montenegran Cross stitch
    Museum no. 570-1898

    Early samplers were used to teach young girls embroidery. In making the sampler, they learned the various stitches and recorded favourite motifs and patterns. Before the 17th century the patterns and motifs, often drawn from herbals and bestiaries, were sometimes scattered over the sampler at random. In the 17th century, samplers tended to be embroidered in regular horizontal bands, showing stitches of increasing complexity. Alphabets had a practical application: affluent households of the 17th century marked their household linen with embroidered letters. By the 19th and early 20th centuries, samplers were accomplished pieces of work and were often framed and displayed on walls.. This 17th-century linen band sampler is embroidered with silk in double running, cross, two-sided cross and Montenegrin cross stitch.

  • Pair of gloves, 1630-50. Museum no. 907-1904

    Pair of gloves, 1630-50. Museum no. 907-1904

    Pair of gloves
    England
    1630-50
    embroidered leather with silk & metal  embroidered gauntlet
    Museum no. 907-1904

    Leather gloves, with gauntlets of satin embroidered with silver-gilt and silk threads, trimmed with silver bobbin lace, spangles and ribbons, English, early-17th century.

  • Panel, Mary Queen of Scots

    Panel, Mary Queen of Scots, about 1570. Museum no. T.33J -1955

    Panel
    Mary Queen of Scots
    England
    ca. 1570
    linen, embroidered with silk, edged with gold tissue on  velvet
    Museum no. T.33J -1955

    These panels of silk cross stitch on exposed linen ground, with couched threads in a swirling design, were originally appliqued to a velvet ground. The design of birds, animals and fish is based on the illustrations to Conrad Gesner's Icones Animalium, published in Zurich in 1560. The panels were embroidered by the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots, assisted by Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, and eventually hung in Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, from where they acquired the name of the Oxburgh Hangings.