An update to an interpretive embroidery

Late last year I posted an embroidery I did based on an extant textile in the Museum of Fine Arts. The post can be read here.

The Kingdom of Lochac has an embroidery Guild called the Worshipful Company of Broderers. They have Guild competition that are judged at Kingdom events. The most recent event was goldwork. I entered my embroidery and won. I put together my documentation on the extant and reproduction and it is available for download in pdf format.

WCoBgoldworkentry PDF

I had heard from the Museum of Fine Arts about the actual date of the extant textile!

Enjoy.

An interpretive embroidery

This textile is cream coloured mulham (silk-linen blend) worked with couched metal thread (gold wound on cream silk), with brown, cream, light green and light blue silk thread worked in split stitch. Done over two pieces that were then sewn together, the textile is 11cm by 9cm. It is currently in the Museum of Fine Arts Accesssion number 31.445. It is linked to two other textiles in the Museum, specifically Accession number 31.443 and Accession number 31.444 although the records differ, with the other textile saying that it is Mesopotamian from the 10th-11th century.

I have done my own interpretation of the embroidery, with linen as a background cloth, using Gumnut Yarns silk perle thread and gilt smooth passing thread on a silk core.
My colour choices were based on article History of Dyes Used in Different Historical Periods of Egypt by Omar Abdel-Kareem.
The reverse-

I am unsure of the date of the embroidery, so any information would be welcome!

Buyid embroideries

This textile was made in either Iran or Iraq in the 11th century, under the Buyids. It is 31.5 cm by 40.5 cm and the base fabric is mulham (silk warp and cotton weft fabric) tabby woven with silk and gold thread embroidery. It has two tiraz inscriptions, which read (on the top)-

“. . . command and glory and power and good fortune and . . . peace and command and command [one word garbled].”

with the text on the bottom-

“. . . [the Compassionat]te [?]. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds and the wor[lds?].”

The textile is in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1938.300.

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Also thought to have been made in the 11th century in either Iran or Iraq, this textile is 40 cm by 26 cm. Also mulham ground fabric embroidered in silk and gold wrapped thread, with roundels of birds and animals. There is a tiraz at the bottom, but no translation is available. It is currently in the Cleveland Museum of Art accession number 1952.257.

The veil of Sainte Anne

This textile is known as the veil of Sainte Anne, which is kept in the basilica of Sainte Anne in Apt, France. The legend had it that the veil was found in a vault under the basilica.

However, it is a textile that originated from Damietta in Fatimid Egypt, in the 11th century C.E. It is 310 cm wide and 152 cm high, made from linen with tapestry woven roundels of animals, mythical animals, plants and tiraz.

It is now thought to have been plunder of the 1st Crusade, although the first mention of it in the records in Apt is 1714. It is very well preserved, as it is mostly stored in a glass flask unless it is the Sainte Anne´s feast day. The selvages are on both sides of the fabric, so was woven with the width of 310 cm. It has three tapestry woven designs, made from silk and gold thread. The large roundel reads-

Alī is the friend of God; may God bless him. Imam Abu-l-Qāsim al-Musta’lī billah, emir of the Believers, may God bless him, his pure-hearted ancestors and his very worthy descendants

The tiraz on the sides reads-

This is what was made in the private weaving factory at Damietta in the year ….9

which isolates the date to either 1096 or 1097 C.E.

The textile is thought to be a back of a khila´ or ceremonial gifted robe known as an ‘abā which is a sleeveless coat.

Recommended reading
Writing Signs: The Fatimid Public Text by Irene A. Bierman. Via Google Books.

The veil of Saint Anne by H. A. Elsberg and R. Guest. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 68, No. 396 (Mar., 1936), pp. 140+144-145+147. Via JStor.

Symbols of Power by Louise Mackie. Via Google Books.

Qantara: Veil of Saint Anne.