LIMERICK "FILLINGS."LIMERICK "FILLINGS."
Very dainty little sprays and flowers are produced in the fine chain or tambour stitch, the hearts of the flowers or the centres of the scallops being workedover in an endless variety of extra stitches, as will be seen in the illustration.
Another variety of lace is Carrick-ma-cross, which was contemporary with Limerick. This is merely embroidery again, but has more claim to the title of lace, as the tiny little flowers and scrolls are connected with brides made of buttonhole stitch ornamented with picots. This is really a very handsome lace, its only drawback being that it will notwash. The fine lawn of which it is made is buttonholed round and then cut away. This, in cleaning or washing,contractsand leaves the buttonhole edging, and in a few cleanings it is a mass of unmendable rags.
Slightly more serviceable is another variety of Carrick-ma-cross, on which the lawn is appliquéd to a machine-made net, the pattern outlined with buttonhole stitches, and the surplus lawn cut away, leaving the network as a grounding, various pretty stitchings filling up the necessary spaces.
Yet another kind of lace is made, and is really the only real lace that Ireland can claim. This is the Irish crotchet, which in its finer varieties is a close imitation of Venetian Point, but made with fine thread and with a crotchet needle. Some of the best is really worth purchasing, but it is costly, realising as much as five guineas per yard. A very delicate "Tatting" also comes from the Emerald Isle, and in comparing English and Irish laces one is inevitably struck with the reflection that there is more "artistry" in the production of Irish laces and embroidery than in England with all her advantages.The temperamental differences of the two races are distinctly shown in this, perhaps more than any other art.
Much really notable work is now being executed in the Irish lace schools. At Youghal, co. Monaghan, an exact replica of old Venetian Point is being worked. Various fine specimens from the school occupy a place at South Kensington Museum, and the lace industry of Ireland may be said to be in a healthy condition.
CARRICK-MA-CROSS LACE. (Author's Collection.)CARRICK-MA-CROSS LACE.(Author's Collection.)
THE CENTRE STRIP IS OLD "RETICELLA," WITH GENOA BORDERS. (Author's Collection.)THE CENTRE STRIP IS OLD "RETICELLA," WITH GENOA BORDERS.(Author's Collection.)
Style—Historical data—Réseaux.
Style—Historical data—Réseaux.
The great difficulty in attempting to identify any specimen of lace is that from time to time each country experimented in the manners and styles of other lace-making nations. The early Reticella workers copied what is known as the "Greek laces," which were found in the islands of the Grecian Archipelago. Specimens of these laces found in the excavations of the last thirty years show practically no difference in method and style. France copied the Venetian laces, and at one period it is impossible to say whether a given specimen was made at Alençon or Venice. Italy, in turn, imitated the Flemish laces—to such an extent that even the authorities at South Kensington Museum, with all their leisure and opportunities for study and the magnificent specimens at hand for identification, admit that certain laces are either "Italian or Flemish." Valenciennes was once a Flemish town, and though now French, preserves the Flemishcharacter of lace, some specimens of Mechlin being so like Valenciennes as to baffle certainty.
Later, Brussels borrowed the hand-made grounds of France and Venice, and still later England copied Brussels, the guipures of Flanders, and the ground and style of Lille! All this makes the initial stages of the study of lace almost a hopeless quest. The various expensive volumes on lace, although splendidly written and gorgeously illustrated, leave the student with little more than an interesting and historical knowledge on which to base the actual study of lace. Here I may refer my readers to the one and only public collection of lace, I believe, in England—that of the South Kensington Museum, where specimens of lace from all countries and of all periods are shown, and where many magnificent bequests, that of Mrs. Bolckow especially, make the actual study of lace a possibility.
It is to be hoped that the governing body of the museum will, in its own good time, make this a pleasure instead of a pain. The specimens, themost important to the student, are placed in a low, dark corridor. Not a glimmer of light can be obtained on some of the cases, which also are upright, and placed so closely together that on attempting to see the topmost specimen on one side the unfortunate student literally bangs her head into the glass of the next one. A gentle complaint at the Directors' office concerning the difficulty brought forth the astonishing information that there was no room at their disposal, but that in good time better light might be found. As these cases havebeen in identically the same place for the past fifteen years, one hopes that the "good time" may come before one becomes a "spectacled pantaloon" with no desire to see the wonders of that Palace of Art.
POINT D'ANGLETERRE. Style Louis XV. Eighteenth CenturyPOINT D'ANGLETERRE.Style Louis XV. Eighteenth Century(S.K.M Collection.)
This little protest is made in the hope that the "Lords of the Committee" may possibly have their attention drawn to what amongst the lace-lovers and students in this country is a "standing grievance."
It is almost impossible, even from the best of photographic illustrations, to learn all the intricacies of identification. The photographs clearly show style, but it needs specimens of the actual lace to show method of working. From the illustrations in this book, specially selected from the South Kensington Collection, and from specimens in my own collection, every variety of style may be easily understood, as they have been particularly selected to show each point of difference. Commencing with the earliest form of lacework—i.e., "cutworke"—nothing will better show this than the "Sampler" specimen, which, half way down, shows two rows entirely typical of this kind of early lace-making—for such it is. A little lower, examples of drawn threadwork are seen, while the upper portion illustrates satin stitch patterns, which more properly belong to embroidery.
The ancient collar from the South Kensington Collection, page149, shows some of the finest developments of cutwork, when the foundation of linen was entirely dispensed with. The work is exceedingly fine, the threads being no coarser, indeed in many cases less so, than the fine linen it adorns.This is known as Reticella, or "punto in aria." The last name is applicable to all the laces of Venice which succeeded Reticella, and means lace literally made out of nothing or without any building foundation.
The specimen is still of the same class, but where before the design was simple geometric square and pointed as in all the early lace, it now takes on the lovely flowing scroll of the Renaissance that marks the latter half of the seventeenth century.
The same grand styles may be noted all through the great period of Italian Needlepoint lace. It will be seen in a lesser degree in the Guipure laces of Milan and Genoa, but here the cramping influence of the Flemish school shows itself distinctly.
ITALIAN ECCLESIASTICAL LACE.ITALIAN ECCLESIASTICAL LACE.
FLEMISH OR GENOESE ECCLESIASTICAL LACE.FLEMISH OR GENOESE ECCLESIASTICAL LACE.(S.K.M Collection.)
The same bold lines may be noted in the early Needlepoint lace of France, which had not then become sufficiently sure of her capacity to develop a style of her own, and all show the Renaissance spirit. Afterwards when the superb Point de France was at its height of manufacture along with grand outline and exquisite handicraft, the influence of the mighty monarch Louis XIV. asserted itself and although the lace itself commands unbounded admiration, fantastic little notions, symbolical and naturalistic, showed itself—as an illustration page75: little figures representing "the Indian," "canopied crown over a sealed lady," trees growing all manner of bizarre fruit and flowers, all symbolical of Louis the Magnificent's unbounded power and sway. In the South Kensington Museum there is a stillfiner specimen, which has not yet been photographed, I believe—a magnificent flounce, about eighteen inches wide (really two boot top pieces joined), of what is known as pseudo-Oriental character, which shows amongst the usual exquisite scrolling no less than seven different figures on each piece—viz., an Indian, a violinist in dress of Louis XIV. period, a lady riding on a bird, two other ladies, one with a pet dog and the other a parrot, a lady violinist, and another lady seated before a toilet-table. These little figures are not more than three-quarters of an inch high, but are worked with such minuteness that even the tiny features are shown. This fantastic adoption of the human figure was copied in Italy and Flanders. The finest specimens of Point d'Angleterre (Brussels) show the same designs; and it may broadly be stated that all lace with figures is of the Louis XIV. period, and over two hundred years old.
Succeeding this period came the dainty elegance of the French laces, when the workers of Alençon and Argentan had developed a purely French style. Note the Point d'Alençon, illustration page83, where the characteristics of the period are fully shown. The illustration shows a mixed lace, which only recently has been acknowledged by the South Kensington people as Point d'Argentan. Along with the typical Argentan ground of the upper portion is the fine Alençon mesh and varied jours of the border. This also is Louis XIV. style. The lappet shown next is exceedingly instructive, as till quite lately the people who professed to understand lace agreed to call this Genoese, although it was quite unlike anythingelse made there. This lappet was so labelled at South Kensington, but now is admittedly Argentella (or little Argentan). It is remarkably like Alençon, being of the same period, the only points of difference being that the design is not outlined with a raised Cordonnet (though in different places of the design a raised and purled Cordonnet is often stitched on it) and the special ground (partridge eye) which is agreed to denote "Argentella" lace—page83. It is sometimes called the may-flower ground, but this is somewhat misleading as that design occurs in other laces. The only other great style is that of Flanders, which at its earliest period had received no influence from the Renaissance that had seized the southern countries of Europe and was still in the grip of mediæval art. It was not until Italian influence permeated France that Flemish lace perceptibly altered in character.
These are to all intents and purposes the three great styles of lace. England had no style: she copied Flemish, Brussels, and Mechlin laces. Ireland, on the contrary, copied Italian in her Irish crotchet and Carrick-ma-cross (in style only, but not workmanship), and adapted Lille and Mechlin and Brussels and Buckingham in her Limerick lace.
The student must next make herself familiar with the methods pursued by the old lace-workers, and here the difficulty commences. All lace is either Needlepoint, pillow-made, or machine-made.Needlepointexplains itself. Every thread of it is made with a needle on a parchment pattern, and only twostitches are used, buttonhole and a double-loop which is really a buttonhole stitch.
BRUSSELS LAPPET. Nineteenth Century.BRUSSELS LAPPET.Nineteenth Century.(S.K.M Collection.)
This can be clearly understood by referring to Charts Nos.I.andII., where thetwo Brussels groundsare shown. The Needlepoint ground, No.I., is formed by a buttonhole stitch, which loops over again before taking the next. The pillow-made ground, No.II., shows the threads plaited or twisted together to form a hexagonal or a diamond-shaped network. This is all the difference between needle-made and pillow-made lace, and in itself helps to identify in many instances its country and period when it was produced. All the early Italian laces were Needlepoint, and all the early French laces were the same. All the Flemish laces (including Brussels) were pillow-made, and mixed laces in any of these countries are of later make. Italy adapted the Flemish pillow-lace, and produced Genoese and Milanese guipures, in addition to the coarse imitation of Reticella which she now made by plaiting threads on the pillow. Brussels adopted the needle-made motifs and grounds of Italy, and produced perhaps her finest lace, weaving her beautiful designs and outlines on the pillow, and afterwards filling the spaces with needle-made jours and brides, as in Point d'Angleterre.
A study of ChartII.will show the different style of grounds or réseaux of both Needlepoint and pillow-made lace, the buttonhole grounds being either of "brides" with or without picots, or buttonhole loops, as in Brussels, and Alençon (with a straight thread whipping across to strengthen the ground),loops buttonholed over all as in Argentan, or made of tiny worked hexagons with separate buttonholed threads around them as in Argentella. The pillow-made grounds are made of two plaited or twisted threads, except in the case of Valenciennes, when it is made of four threads throughout (hence its durability). In Brussels, it will be noted, the threads are twisted twice to commence the mesh. These meet two other threads, and are plaited four times, dividing into two again, and performing the same twist, the whole making a hexagon rather longer than round. Mechlin has precisely the same ground, only that the threads are plaitedtwiceinstead of four times, as in Brussels, making the hexagon roundish instead of long.
The ground of Lille lace is of exactly the same shape as Valenciennes, but is composed of two threads twisted loosely twice each side of the diamond, and that of Valenciennes being made of four threads plaited.
With the aid of these little charts, a remembrance of the various styles and a few actual specimens of lace, anda powerful magnifying glass, it is not beyond the power of any reader of this little book to become expert in the identification of old lace.
REAL "POINT DE GAZE" (NEEDLE-MADE GROUND). (Author's Collection.)REAL "POINT DE GAZE" (NEEDLE-MADE GROUND).(Author's Collection.)
Lace is such an article of luxury, and, as a rule, only belonging to the wealthiest class, that it seldom or ever comes into the open market. In 1907 two collections were dispersed at Christie's—those of Mrs. Massey-Mainwaring and Mrs. Lewis Hill.
The most costly laces are the Venetian Points, some of the fine Rose Points being priceless. It is so fragile that little of it remains, and the smallest piece is eagerly snapped up by collectors.
In 1904 at Christie's lace sold for the following prices—
£A 58-inch length of 24-ins. deep Point de Venise600A 4-yards length of Rose Point, 11 inches deep420
The same year—
£4 yards of Point d'Argentan, 25 inches deep46044 inches Point d'Alençon, 17 inches deep432½ yards Point d'Alençon, 14 inches deep46
In 1907, March 11,Massey-Mainwaring Saleat Christie's—
sold for£s.d.1½ yards Venetian Gros Point, 8 inches deep161605 yards length of Reticella, 7½ inches deep331204 short lengths42007 pieces of Point d'Alençon21004 yards narrow Point d'Argentan151503 pairs Point d'Argentan lappets1515030 yards narrow Mechlin in odd lengths2100
April 15th, theLewis-Hill Saleat Christie's:—
sold for£s.d.4 yards Venetian Point, 15½ inches deep68504 yards Venetian Point, 8½ inches deep521003 yards Spanish Point, 6½ inches deep73100An Old Brussels scarf in two pieces101006 yards Brussels applique23100A Point Gaze parasol-cover6160A Brussels flounce12163 yards Honiton flounce, 17 inches deep6960Another similar69606 yards Honiton lace in three pieces2430An old lace coverlet2540Another ditto2650A lace altar-frontal2110
With the exception of the Honiton flounces, whichsold beyond their market value, all the above pieces were bought by London lace dealers!
The famous collection of the late Mrs. Hailstone was sold in 1909. This lady had for many years been known as a lace collector, and the sale of her effects was eagerly anticipated. The result was extremely interesting to the collectors, as Mrs. Hailstone had collected specimen lengths of almost every known lace. No huge prices obtained, but the sale may be regarded as representative, and the prices quoted as being open-market value.
£s.d.A set of bed-hangings, forming six curtains, made of Italian lace and linen4000A large portière curtain of Italian lacis-work10100A Point d'Alençon fichu3000A Point d'Alençon cravat end, a pair of sleeves, one odd piece1800A pair of Argentan lappets and six yards lace1200A panel fine raised Venetian Point, 22 inches wide, 28 inches long2400A Berthe, Point de Venise, 1 yard 120 inches, 12 inches deep2500A Point de Venise Berthe3600A 1 yard 13 inches x 7 inches panel Venetian lace5000Two specimen pieces, 3¼ inches, all of Point de Venise à réseau14100A Buckinghamshire collar, sleeves, and pieces550A specimen of old Honiton, baby's cap, bodice, and handkerchief350An old Honiton baby's robe, said to have belonged to Princess Charlotte15100Seven volumes of lace specimens of old and modern lace3500
In December, 1910, probably the most valuable collection ever placed upon the market was dispersed at Messrs. Christie's. The late Sir William Abdy Bt., had for many years devoted his time and money to the collection of valuable lace, such as now can only be seen in the great national collections. The prices obtained are significant of the huge sums which must be paid to obtain wearable pieces of valuable lace such as skirt lengths, 3- or 4-yard lengths of deep flouncings, shawls, coverlets, aprons, &c.
£s.d.A fine Point d'Alençon skirt, 2½ yards, 44 inches deep16000A fine Point d'Alençon scarf, 2 yards 9 inches × 10 inches deep7200A Point d'Argentan Berthe, 9½ inches deep3900A Point d'Argentan flounce, 6 yards 30 inches × 5½ inches deep14000A Point d'Argentan flounce, 2 yards 26 inches long × 25 inches deep21000A Point d'Argentan flounce, 3 yards 28 inches long × 24 inches deep31000A Point d'Argentan flounce, 3 yards 35 inches long × 25 inches deep43100A Point d'Argentan flounce, 3 yards 16 inches long × 24½ inches deep29000An Italian gold and thread lace flounce, 4 yards long, 29 inches deep74000A length of Italian Rose Point, 4 yards 15 inches long, 3 inches deep7000An old Italian Rose Point flounce, 3 yards 31 inches long, 17½ inches deep66000An old Italian Rose Point square, 31 inches × 34 inches18000An old Italian Rose Point flounce, 3 yards 19 inches long, 7½ inches deep52000An old Italian Rose Point panel, 34 inches × 9 inches9500A Point de Venise lappet à réseau, 46 inches long, 5¼ inches wide2200Point de Venise trimming, 8 yards long × 4 inches deep6500A piece of flat Venetian insertion, 4 yards × 3¾ inches deep9200A Rose Point flounce, 4 yards long × 5 inches deep20000A Rose Point flounce, 3 yards 31 inches long × 22 inches deep60000A Rose Point flounce, 4 yards 7 inches long × 24 inches deep54000A Rose Point flounce, 3 yards 32 inches long × 15 inches deep56000A Rose Point flounce, 4 yards 11 inches long × 18 inches deep, and a pair of sleeves en suite65000A Rose Point flounce, 4 yards 3 inches long × 11½ inches deep51000A raised Point de Venise square, 1 yard 24 inches long × 1 yard 6 inches wide45000An Old Brussels apron, 41 inches wide, 37 inches deep14500A specimen piece of early Valenciennes, 2 yards long × 7 inches deep4200
The following prices have been given by the South Kensington authorities for specimens shown:—
£s.d.A Venetian Point altar-frontal, 8 × 3 feet35000A Venetian chasuble, stole, maniple, and chalice veil20000A 2 yards × 5/8 yard Venetian flounce12500A Gros Point collar2100A Brussels lappet2300A drawn-thread jacket10100Linen cutwork tunic2000
EGYPTIAN EMBROIDERY. Found in a tomb at Thebes.EGYPTIAN EMBROIDERY.Found in a tomb at Thebes.
Needlework pioneer art—Neolithic remains—Earliest known English specimens—Bayeux tapestry.
Needlework pioneer art—Neolithic remains—Earliest known English specimens—Bayeux tapestry.
While the subject of lace-making has been treated as almost cosmopolitan, that of embroidery, in this volume, must be regarded as purely national! I purposely refrain from introducing the embroideries of other countries, other than mentioning the ancient civilisations which shared the initial attempts to decorate garments, hangings, &c. (of which we really know very little), and shall confine myself to the needlework of this country, more especially as it is the one art and craft of which England may be unfeignedly proud. It is assumed that needlecraft was the pioneer art of the whole world, that the early attempts to decorate textiles by embroideries of coloured silks, and the elaborate use of gold andsilver threadwork, first suggested painting, sculpture, and goldsmith's work. Certainly early Egyptian paintings imitated embroideries, and we have good ground for supposing that stained glass was a direct copy of the old ecclesiastical figures or ancient church vestments. The Neolithic remains found in Britain show that at a very early period the art of making linen-cloth was understood. Fragments of cloth, both of linen and wool, have been discovered in a British barrow in Yorkshire, and early bone needles found at different parts of the country are plentiful in our museums. There is no doubt that we owe much of our civilisation to the visit of the Phœnicians, those strange people, who appear to have carried all the arts and crafts of ancient Babylon and Assyria to the wonder isles of the Greek Archipelago, to Egypt, to Southern Spain, and to Cornwall and Devonshire. These people, dwelling on the maritime border of Palestine, were the great traders of their age, and while coming to this country (then in a state of wildest barbarism) for tin left in exchange a knowledge of the arts and appliances of civilisation hitherto not understood. The Roman Invasion (45B.C.) brought not only knowledge of craftsmanship but also Christianity. St. Augustine, to whom the conversion of the Britains is credited, carried with him a banner embroidered with the image of Christ. After the Romans had left the country, and it had become invaded by the Celts and the Danes, and had again been taken possession of by the Saxons, a period of not only rest but advancement arrived, and we see early in the seventh century the country prosperousand settled. Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, wrote a poem in which he speaks of the tapestry-weaving and the embroidery which the women of England occupied their lives.
A LENGTH OF THE FAMOUS BAYEUX TAPESTRY.A LENGTH OF THE FAMOUS BAYEUX TAPESTRY.
The earliest specimen of embroidery known to have been executed in England is that of the stole and maniple of St. Cuthbert, which is now treasured at Durham Cathedral. These were worked by Aelfled, the Queen of Edward the Elder, Alfred the Great's son. She worked them for Bishop Fridhestan in 905A.D.Her son Athelstan, after her death, visited the shrine of St. Cuthbert, at Chester-le-street, and in an inventory of the rich gifts which he left there, there is recorded "one stole with a maniple," amongst other articles. These very embroideries were removed from the actual body of St. Cuthbert in 1827. They are described by an eyewitness as being "of woven gold, with spaces left vacant for needlework embroideries." Exquisitely embroidered figures are in niches or clouds. The whole effect is described as being that of a fine illuminated MS. of the ninth century, and indescribably beautiful. Another great prelate, St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, designed embroideries for the execution of pious ladies of his diocese (924A.D.).
Emma, Queen of Ethelred the Unready, and afterwards of Canute, designed and embroidered many church vestments and altar-cloths, and Editha, wife of Edward the Confessor, embroidered the King's coronation mantle.
The great and monumental Bayeux tapestry—which is miscalled, as it isembroidery—was the work of Queen Matilda, who, like Penelope, wove the mighty deeds of her husband and king in an immense embroidery. This piece of needlecraft comes upon us as a shock, rather than an admiration, after the exquisite embroideries worked by and for the Church. It is interesting, however, as a valuable historic "document," showing the manners and customs of the time. The canvas is 227 feet long and 20 inches wide, and shows events of English history from the accession of Edward the Confessor to the defeat of Harold, at Hastings. It is extremely crude; no attempt is made at shading, the figures being worked in flat stitch in coloured wools, on linen canvas. Certainly it is one of the quaintest and most primitive attempts of working pictures by needlecraft.
The evidence of the costumes, the armour, &c., are supposed to tell us that this tapestry was worked many years after the Conquest, but it can be traced by documentary evidence as having been seen in Bayeux Cathedral as far back as 1476. In the time of Napoleon I. it was removed from the cathedral and was actually used as a covering for a transport waggon. Finally, however, it was exhibited in the Musée Napoleon, in 1803, and was afterwards returned to Bayeux. In 1840 it was restored and relined, and is now in the Hôtel de Ville at Bayeux!
KING HAROLD. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)KING HAROLD.(From the Bayeux Tapestry.)
"Opus Anglicanum"—The Worcester fragments—St. Benedict—Legend of Pope Innocent—The "Jesse" cope—The "Syon" cope.
"Opus Anglicanum"—The Worcester fragments—St. Benedict—Legend of Pope Innocent—The "Jesse" cope—The "Syon" cope.
The great period of English embroidery is supposed to have been from the twelfth to the thirteenth century. Very little remains to show this, except a few fragments of vestments from the tombs of the bishops dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and other data obtained from various foreign inventories of later date referring to the use of "Opus Anglicanum." Some portion of the Worcester fragments may be seen in the South Kensington Museum, and can only be described as being so perfect in workmanship, colour, and style as even at this day to be more like a magnificent piece of goldsmith's work than that of needlecraft. The background is apparently one mass of thread of fine gold worked in and out of a silken mesh, the embroidery appearing just as clear and neat in manipulation as an illumination. The coloured photographs, which may be seen in the same room,of the stole and maniple of St. Cuthbert are of precisely the same work. Judging from these, and the embroidered orphrey which the authorities bought from the Hockon Collection for £119 1s. 10d. and which is only 4 feet 8 inches long, there is no doubt that this was,par excellence, the finest period. The work can only be described as being like an old Italian painting on a golden ground. We see precisely such design and colouring in ancient paintings for altars as in the old Italian Triptychs. This style was carried out as literally as possible. Even the defects, if so they may be called, are there, and a slight topheaviness of the figures serves but to accentuate the likeness.
There is a legend that during the times of the Danish incursions St. Benedict travelled backwards and forwards through France and Italy, and brought with him during hissevenjourneys artificers inglassandstone, besides costly books and copies of the Scriptures. The chief end and aim of monastic life, both of monk and nun, in those early days was to embroider, paint, and illuminate their sacred books, vestments, and edifices with what was to them a newly-inspired faith.
Dr. Rock, in his "Church of Our Fathers," says that from the twelfth century to the time of Henry VIII. that only the best materials that could be found in our country or that of other lands were employed, and that the art that was used on them was the best that could be learnt or given. The original fabrics often came from Byzantium or were of Saracenic origin.
FROM THE "JESSE" COPE (South Kensington Museum). English, early Fourteenth Century.FROM THE "JESSE" COPE (South Kensington Museum).English, early Fourteenth Century.
The story of Pope Innocent III., who, seeing certain vestments and orphreys, and being informed that they were English, said, "Surely England must be a garden of delight!" must be quoted to show how English work was appreciated in those early days.
The choicest example in this country of this glorious period of English embroidery is the famous Syon cope, which is supposed to rank as the most magnificent garment belonging to the Church. It may be regarded as a typical example of real English work, the "Opus Anglicanum" or "Anglicum," which, although used for other purposes, such as altar-cloths and altar-frontals, found apparently its fullest scope in these large semicircular mantles.
Amongst the many copes treasured at South Kensington there are none, amidst all their splendour, as fine as this, although the fragment of the "Jesse" cope runs it very closely. There are many copes of this period in different parts of the Continent—the Daroca Cope at Madrid, one at Ascagni, another at Bologna, at St. Bertrand-de-Comminges, at "St. John Lateran" at Rome, at Pienza and Toleda, and a fragment of one with the famous altar-frontal at Steeple Aston. These are all assumed to be of "Opus Anglicanum," and they may be described as being technically perfect, the stitches being of fine small tambour stitch, beautifully even, and the draperies exquisitely shaded.
The illustration showing the Syon Cope requires some little explanation. It is wrought on linen, embroidered all over with gold and silver thread and coloured silk. It is 9 feet 7 inches long, 4 feet 8 incheswide. The whole of the cope except the border is covered with interlacing quatrefoils outlined in gold. The ground of these quatrefoils is covered with red silk and the spaces between them with green silk. Each quatrefoil is filled with scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin, and figures of St. Michael and of the Apostles. On the green spaces are worked figures of six-winged angels standing on whorls. The chief place on the quatrefoils is given to the crucifixion, where the body of the Saviour is worked in silver and cloth of gold. The Virgin, arrayed in green tunic and golden mantle, is on one side and St. John, in gold, on the other. Above the quatrefoil is another representing the Redeemer seated on a cushioned throne with the Virgin, and below another representing St. Michael overcoming Satan. Other quatrefoils show "Christ appearing to St. Mary Magdalen," "The Burial of the Virgin," "The Coronation of the Virgin," "The Death of the Virgin with the Apostles surrounding her," "The Incredulity of St. Thomas," "St. Simon," "St. Bartholomew," "St. Peter," "St. Paul," "St. Thomas," "St. Andrew," and "St. James." Portions of four other Apostles may be seen, but at some period the cope has been cut down. In its original state the cope showed the twelve Apostles. The lower portion has been cut away and reshaped, and round this is an edging apparently made out of a stole and maniple which point to a later date, as they are worked chiefly in cross-stitch. On the orphrey are emblazoned the arms of Warwick, Castile and Leon, Ferrars, Geneville Everard, the badge ofthe Knights Templars, Clifford, Spencer, Lindsay, Le Botelier, Sheldon, Monteney of Essex, Champernoun, Everard, Tyddeswall Grandeson, Fitz Alan, Hampden, Percy, Clanvowe, Ribbesford, Bygod, Roger de Mortimer, Grove, B. Bassingburn, and many others not recognisable. These coats of arms, it is suggested, belonged to the noble dames who worked the border. The angels which fill the intervening spaces are of the six-winged varieties, each standing on whorls or wheels.