When we analyse old textiles we use simple equipment. Phones, a clip on magnifier, glass magnifier, measuring tape, ruler and in special cases we use a USB microscope. Here you can see the benefits of using a clip on magnifier. It’s a simple thing that you can buy at any IT shop that sells mouses or charger for phones.
This piece is a linen fragment from the so called The time capsule . You can find more finds related to it at our blog.
The linen fragment have got lovely decorations at the edge. We don’t know what it was before it became a fragment. A part of a veil? A towel? A table cloth? It you have any suggestions- please write them in the comments! / Amica & Maria
On October 10th, our exhibition of reconstructed gilt leather embroidery opened at the Swedish History Museum. The exhibition is called Guldskinnsbroderier- rekonstruktioner och nya tolkningar. (Gilt leather embroideries- reconstructions and new interpretations).
Together with a group of dedicated people we have recreated five large embroideries. Four of the embroideries are large coverlets, and two are large cushions. All originals, except Östra Stenby, are to be found at the museum. Since they are too fragile to be exhibited in a too well-lit room, they are not on display right now.
Two of the coverlets, Skepptuna and Dalhem 1, have been exhibited before at the museum, but three new pieces are on view for the first time. We proudly present reconstructions of Skokloster 2, Dalhem 2 and Östra Stenby. All fabrics are off course plant dyed, sewn by hand and decorated with gilt leather strips and some with white wool fabric. The new interpretations of how to use the old technique to create new art in our modern times, have been made by the group Skapande broderi Stockholm.
Here are some pictures from the opening. Thank you Göran Wingstrand for the photos. The exhibition will be on show until 14th of February 2021.
Skokloster 2Dalhem 2Östra Stenby Detail Östra StenbySkepptunaDalhem 1
We would like to thank everyone that have been sewing and helping out with the project to make this happen. Without you this wouldn’t have been possible. <3
Agnes Bohman Boyle Aina Hagman Anders Klintholm Lilliehöök Anna Malmborg Anna Odlinge Anna Sönsteby Lilliehöök Barbro Bornsäter Catharina Drakmården Catrin Karlsson Elina Sojonen Elin Andersson Elin Jantze Emil Lagerquist Emma Fryksmark Ester Spetz Eva Eriksson Fia Makalös Lindblom Hannah Ström Ida Berg Ingela Wahlberg Justine Arnot Kerstin Petersson Khelan Butén Lena Dahrén Lia de Thornegge Linnea Vennström Magdalena Fick Malin Ekberg Maria Franzon Mervi Pasanen Sofia Berg Thérèse Pettersson Rasmus Rasmusen René Guthof Tove Kluge Ulla-Mari Uusitalo Ulrika Mårtensson Vea Collins Ylva Nellmar
Thank you all!
Project leaders: Amica Sundström and Maria Neijman
Today we travel to the north of Sweden. All the way up to Resele church in Ångermanland. The medieval church was demolished 1841 when the new church was built. Today’s textile is an antependium from the old church.
It’s a wool weave and it has got one warp system and two weft systems. The birds are a common motif during the later part of the Middle ages and the antependium is dated 1350-1500, it is dated by style.
The textile is part of the collection at Historiska Museet in Sweden. / Amica and Maria
Photos: Historical Textiles- pease cred us if sharing
The Fogdö embroidery is made with long armed cross stitches. It’s dated to early 16th century.
St George is often depicted in late medieval art. Here we can see George with a lovely jousting shield fighting the dragon with a very long sword… The embroidery is very well preserved, but on some places you can see that the wool yarn have worn off and the tabby linen weave is exposed. Today it is found in the collections of Historiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden. / Amica and Maria
Photos: Historical Textiles- pease cred us if sharing
Some metals are better then other in combination with textiles. Iron tend to rust and this piece have today some rust “blobs” and rusty rings on the fabric. Originally it was rings sewn on to a velvet fabric. Most likely lacing rings on a doublet. The rings were sewn on with double white linen thread.
The piece comes from Italy and is dated 1470-1540. Read more about the finds from this collection here on our blog. Use the search word Italy and you will find more finds from the same collection.
/ Amica and Maria Photos: Historical Textiles – cred if you share!
” Aglets (aiglets)- These small handmade metal tubes were sewn, or attached with tiny metal rivets, to the end of leather, cord or ribbon laces. You can find their plastic descendants on shoelaces today. Aglets, also known as aigletts, throwes or pyntes, were most commonly used from the 15th to the 17th century, when fashion and necessity required people to be laced together. They were used to secure the shaping structures that were worn under women’s skirts, known as farthingales, to fasten jerkins and to tie sleeves and hose (short or long trousers) to doublets (fitted padded jackets). Since virtually everyone needed them, they were mass produced, often quite crudely, and cheap to buy at around 2-3 pennies per dozen, which is why they are found in such numbers.” – London Mudlark: Lara Maiklem
Today we leave Sweden for a quick visit to Italy. We have had the pleasure to analyze a medieval textile collection with several objects in it. The owner wants to be unknown and we can’t therefore tell you where to find the objects. The collection is dated 1470-1540.
In the collection a broken point is found. It’s a tabby rep woven silk band and an aiglet at the end. The colors are brown and purple. The aiglet is made out of some sort of copper alloy/ brass. The band measures approx. 10-11mm and the weft is purple silk. It is possibly woven in a rigid heddle.
/ Amica and Maria
Photo: Historical Textiles – please cred us if sharing.
Our twenty-second advent calendar post is a detail from a gilded leather coverlet from Dalhem church, Småland, Sweden. This one is called Dalhem 2 since the church have got not only one but two coverlets connected to the church.
We would like you to look at the fabrics. The hard spun warp on the red fabric ( shows horizontal on the picture) and the thicker weft. And on the white fabric, that has got a z- spun warp and s-spun weft- giving a very dense look of the fabric. It gives sometimes a visual look of knitting when seen from the diagonal.
They piece is dated to late 15th early 16th century.
Now in collections of Historiska museet, Sweden. / Amica and Maria Photo: Historical Textiles
Our twentieth advent calendar post is a small fragment of linen. Also today we show a quite unusual piece. It is a dark red linen fabric from Italy. The fragment have got a small seam but we can’t say what it use to be. We know from sources that dyed linen did occur during the late medieval period in Italy. But it’s not the dye that we want you to focus on today.
We would like you to look at the seam. Check out the tiny back stitches. The scale above show millimeters. The stitches are less than 1 mm each.
They fragment is dated to late 15th early 16th century.
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