The Ashmolean Museum, in Oxford, England recently held an
exhibition of a needlework collection they received as a gift. The gift
consists of one of the word’s finest collections of historic English
embroideries and was given by collectors, Michéal and Elizabeth Feller. In all
61 pieces comprise the collection which spans the seventeenth century. The
exhibition, The Eye of the Needle, ran
until 12 October.
Donor, Elizabeth
Feller says that it is thanks to her mother’s influence, sewing and embroidery
has been a meaningful activity throughout her life. The collection began with pieces
worked by other people and consisted of small household items such as
needlepoint cushions and went on to include samplers, panels and other items.
All are steeped in English history and stories of the people who embroidered
them.
Michéal and
Elizabeth Feller are long term residents of Oxford and own a butcher’s shop in
the City’s covered market.
The pieces
which have been given to the Museum are seventeenth-century embroideries which
include dramatic pictorial panels, samplers, domestic items and costume pieces.
These embroideries were made during one of the most turbulent centuries in
English history, when religious and political conflict split families and the
country. Beyond the opportunity for demonstrating technical ability, the
embroideries illustrate the themes and concerns which occupied the minds of the
young women making them. They often depict biblical stories at a time when
religious issues, including the use of images, aroused great controversy.
Similarly, during a period of increasing urbanization the pictorial pieces show
idyllic country scenes with imaginary creatures and flowers.
Exquisite
objects in their own right made with colourful silks, pearls, and semi-precious
stones, the embroideries also reflect the religious, political and social
concerns of the English Civil War period.
Besides telling a
story and history of the period, looking at some of these pieces I wonder how
they were created with such fine work and wonderful colours when the embroiderer
had none of the modern equipment we today take for granted. Not for them the
luxury of a daylight lamp right at hand or a magnifier. No super sharp steel
needles; tiny needle threaders or set of Dovo scissors. These needle workers
used crude tools and worked in poor light. Think what they could have achieved with
the benefit of todays tools and lighting!
The following site
has a link to two books showing these works in detail
www.needleprint.blogspot.com
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