Dr Isabella Rosner
@IsabellaRosner
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Textile Historian🪡 Curator @royalneedlework | Research Consultant @witney_antiques | BBC/AHRC New Gen Thinker 2023 | host @sewwhatpodcast | she/her, views own
London via LA and NYC
Joined October 2017
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The news is out! I'm thrilled to share that I rediscovered eight 17th-century paper objects made by schoolgirls when
@SuttonHouseNT
was one of Hackney's many female academies. These paper cuts are an extremely rare example of an art form written about by Hannah Woolley (1/2)
*NEWS!* Rare surviving examples of decorative paper cutting by 17th century schoolgirls have been identified
@SuttonHouseNT
in
#Hackney
.
During renovation of the house from the late 1980s, hundreds of artefacts that had been found under floorboards were carefully stored away. 🧵
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I've come across A LOT of good 17th- and 18th-century Quaker names over the past 3.5 years, as I've worked on my thesis. Now that my thesis is done and submission is near, it's time to share the more than 90 wildest early Quaker names I've found (in alphabetical order):
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I love you, paintings of early modern swaddled babies
Portrait of Swaddled Twins: The Early-Deceased Children of Jacob de Graeff and Aeltge Boelens, unknown artist, c. 1617 (Rijksmuseum)
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Is being anti big light a British thing?? I feel like I've never met so many people who hate The Big Light!!! I'm indifferent to the big light and may even be pro it. Am I the weird one?!?!?!!?
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Popped in to see the
@RoyalNeedlework
BA show today and was blown away. The students’ work was stunning and so creative. Truly gobsmacking talent on show. I can’t wait to see where their hand embroidery skills take them 🪡
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“Sargent and Fashion” at the
@Tate
tonight. A joyful, engaging show combining two of my favourite things — John Singer Sargent and historical dress. Do not listen to the curséd Guardian article. The show is an utter delight and I can’t wait to go again!
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So in love with this 1905-1910 dress in the
@nasjonalmuseet
, worn by Maud of Wales. It’s my favourite of all of the museum’s “gala dresses.” The sequin embroidery, the shape, the colours — all of them are perfection
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This 17th-century English memento mori ring from the
@britishmuseum
is wild. Two smiling skeletons hold up a coffin. Normal, right? BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. Lift up the coffin lid to reveal a tiny lil enamel skeleton!!!
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Just graduated from my PhD and finally got to wear the cushy hat I’ve been obsessed with for years (even though I had to rent it separately)
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Having the best Friday night hanging out with these 18th-century embroidered sheep
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How lucky we were to live at the same time as Faith Ringgold 💔
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The best Bernie meme I've seen is this reinterpretation of Toile de Jouy from the RISD textile department here: . I can't get over how much I love it
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Currently losing it over Liza Lou's 1991-6 art piece called "Kitchen," which is ENTIRELY beaded. Every single inch of this! Is! Beaded!!!
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Here’s probably my favourite piece in the Stirling Smith exhibition, which has opened today. Can you believe this is embroidery? It was made by expert Su embroiderer Joni Zhou just a few years ago and it’s based on a 1680 still life by Cornelis de Heem in the
@KHM_Wien
Happy
#WorldEmbroideryDay
! It’s fitting that today we finished installing “Embroidered Excellence: Treasures from the
@RoyalNeedlework
Collection” at the Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Scotland. It opens tomorrow and includes 40 stunning pieces of historical embroidery
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Spotted some absolutely iconique costumes at the viewing of the upcoming Cosprop exhibition at Kerry Taylor Auctions. Here are costumes from Ever After, Pride and Prejudice (all hail Colin Firth’s wet shirt!), Emma, The Duchess, A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and Mrs Dalloway
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Six years ago today my parents and I were in Colorado, helping my grandmother (who tended towards hoarding) clean up her house. Deep in the back of her car I found this early 1920s dress, which fit me perfectly. It was probably my great, great grandmother’s. Wild!
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My pride and joy is finally complete. I made this off brand Lego version of the cat I live with and love. The lego cat is complete and real cat is Not Thrilled with her twin
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I wrote a short article about Annie Parker, a Victorian woman who embroidered using her own hair during her approx. 400 stints in prison. Her needlework tells us much about her life and the suffering she faced due to addiction. Check it out here:
Arrested over 400 times, Annie Parker found redemption in intricate cross-stitch and crochet using her own hair.
✍️ This new article by
@IsabellaRosner
is exclusive to the website and is free to read at
#victorians
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i wanna be all of them (costume designs for vegetables in the ballet Amor, late 19th-century designs by P. Croce, in the
@V_and_A
)
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Beginning some writing about extremely iconic Spitalfields silk designer Anna Maria Garthwaite, so thinking about the cut paper work she made in 1707 when she was 17 years old. It shows a country house surrounded by gardens, a park, village, and church and is now at the
@V_and_A
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Sorry for weird photos of my legs but I have to share my new tights, which I’m SO excited about. They’re Tabbisocks and
@ElenaKanagyLoux
brought them to my attention. I got pairs with a Mexican sampler from
@artinstitutechi
, quilt from
@metmuseum
, and Anna Maria Garthwaite design
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Today's favourite object is a quilt by Adeline Harris Sears, begun in 1856 and now in the
@metmuseum
. 17 year old Adeline sent out pieces of fabric for important figures to sign and when they sent them back she added them to her quilt. Signatures include Abe Lincoln and Dickens!
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Today in unbelievable 17th-century Quaker names: Revolution Sixsmith, Hallelujah Fisher, Marvellous Scanfield, Obedience Waring, Returned Elgar, Silence Williams, Temperance Poor, Obedience Cotter, Charity Harford, and Discipline Matthews
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Just got to try on a 12th-century Byzantine ring and I’m delighted. Tiny clasping hands!!
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It feels so cold and festive today! This time of year always reminds me of this amazing circa 1770 robe à la française sold by Cora Ginsburg a few years ago. I think
I probably tweet it every year, but I just can't help it. The cypress trees look just like Christmas trees!🎄
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This egg is a mind blowing miracle. Not only the fact that its survived approximately 350 years after its maker (likely a schoolgirl or woman in the home) embroidered upon it, but also the stitching itself. Can you imagine embroidering a hollow eggshell and having it not crack?!
Happy Easter from Witney Antiques! Here is an exceptionally rare object, an embroidered egg from the 17th century. It’s the only known example of its kind. It will be on show in our annual exhibition, free and open to the public this autumn, as well as in our accompanying book
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@xosamcore
I study Quaker women’s art before 1800, focusing on needlework, waxwork, and shellwork. My research means I need to do a lot of digging into Quaker meetings in London and Philadelphia to find the girls and women who made the objects I study!
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I'm so hyped to share images of this piece because I kid you not when I say that this is one of the best pieces of early modern professional embroidery I have EVER seen. The embroidery is next level and it has so much personality. It's a true feast for the eyes!
Here is a detail from a professional embroidery dating to the 1630s-1640s. We will share further details in the next few days, followed by a reveal of the overall picture. The embroidery is expertly wrought and uses an impressive variety of metal threads
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I need you to know that this object is in such exceptional condition that when I saw it I screamed AND cried. It is an unbelievable survival, and makes so clear just how vibrantly colourful the early modern period was
The LAPADA Fair begins tomorrow and on offer will be this exceptional circa 1600 folio, the finest example of Elizabethan embroidery to come to the market in decades. It is in superlative original condition, its silk threads incredibly vibrant and its gold spangles glistening
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Happy one day late anniversary to this plaque I just learnt about, set in the wall of The George pub in Wanstead. It commemorates a cherry pie. It probably commemorated a feast in 1752 which included a huge cherry pie. Legendary.
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Every single day I'm reminded of the wildest thing I've learnt in the course of my research: early 18th-century sex workers often dressed as Quakers. The woman in this 1688 print by Marcellus Laroon II, supposedly a Quaker, may actually be a well known Covent Garden sex worker
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Big life news! I'm excited to share that after submitting my thesis I will take up the role of curator of the
@RoyalNeedlework
! They have a brilliant collection of historical embroidery. I'm so looking forward to getting started at Hampton Court Palace (!) in a few weeks!
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Need you to know that
@nasjonalmuseet
has an amazing collection of 18th-century embroidered clothing on their collection website. The embroidery on the clothes is stunning and I would like to wear every single piece
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Dreaming of spring and frolicking around town in this embroidered tunic and shoes, designed and stitched by Pre-Raphaelite painter and model Marie Spartali Stillman. That purple! Those flowers! Totally iconic. Now in the collection of the
@delartmuseum
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I knew there’d be some historical textiles on show at the Museo Civico di Modena, but I had no idea how many. There were thousands, ancient through 19th century. I’ve never seen this many historical textiles displayed together. I have found heaven and I will never be the same!
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Forever and always thinking about one of the craziest pieces of surviving 17th-century embroidery - an embroidered egg. An embroidered!! Egg!! From more than 350 years ago! Full of needle holes and chenille thread! Have you ever seen anything more insane because I really HAVE NOT
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Good morning to this incredible patchwork evening coat! A mother made this for her son who was recovering from injuries he sustained during WWI. The coat is now in
@NorfolkMuseums
. Big, BIG fan of it!!
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My time in Athens was wonderful not only because I got to see so much history and so many wonderful textiles, but also because I got engaged to the world’s most wonderful human! We essentially met because of Meryl Streep so it’s only right we got engaged in the land of Mamma Mia
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Been thinking about Ray Materson's embroidery. While in prison, he embroidered tiny pictures (under three inches tall!) from unravelled socks. He's out now but is still stitching. An exhibition of his art is currently on at the Andrew Edlin Gallery in NYC, closing tomorrow
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I truly cannot believe I had no idea most people are opposed to Big Light. I never even considered people had Opinions ™ until today. I’ve always just walked into a dark room and turned on Big Light without considering my options!! I am shooketh to my very core
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I'm in the Guardian! It's been a joy to learn about this 17th-c. schoolgirl art. I'm grateful to those girls who cut and folded this paper and who must've been devastated as they watched their hard work slip between the floorboards. These items survived by accident and chance
Rare examples of 17th-century paper-cutting ‘saved from skip’ to go on display
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This is one of the craziest 17th-century memento mori rings I've seen yet, from
@metmuseum
. It's German, dated 1631. It's a gimmel ring, so the ring's two hoops separate. In this case, the rings separate to reveal a baby and a skeleton, showing the life cycle. I'm obsessed!!
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The Benaki Museum is every embroidery lover’s dream! I took 260 (!!) photos of all of the embroidery on display, which ranged from the 17th century through the 19th and from all parts of Greece. Here is a thread of just a few of my favourite pieces 🧵
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Strangely stitched lions of the
@metmuseum
! One of my favorite things about 17th-century embroidery is how difficult it was for stitchers to make lions look like lions (which makes total sense, as 1. embroidering detail is hard and 2. no 17th-c. people had ever seen a lion)
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Need the internet to know that I found my dream wedding dress, which is Marchesa Resort 2018, and now I cannot stop thinking about it. It would be unspeakably expensive and would definitely not suit my figure, but here we are. Every other thought I have is about this dress
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My friend went to the Barbican and sent me a photo of my lil book and it’s being sold next to The Subversive Stitch aka one of the most influential texts in the field of historical embroidery and HOO BOY IM FREAKIN OUT (in a nice way)
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This Tudor memento mori ring is currently for sale and it says "BEHOLD THE ENDE" and I cannot express how desperately I want it
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My dad is an eBay pro and I benefit massively from that. Today I came home to the glorious surprise of an 1821 sampler by Hannah Child. I love Hannah’s depiction of a tiger and her slightly joyful rendition of the crucifixion. Thanks, dad!!
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I'm muting this thread but am glad everyone is getting so much joy from early Quaker names! Looking forward to seeing any future pets/children/bands/drag acts named after stuff on this list
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Happy
#WorldEmbroideryDay
! It’s fitting that today we finished installing “Embroidered Excellence: Treasures from the
@RoyalNeedlework
Collection” at the Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Scotland. It opens tomorrow and includes 40 stunning pieces of historical embroidery
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Hello to maybe the craziest ring I've ever seen! This ring, c. 1620 and in the collection of Albion Art, shows a miniature crucifixion scene made entirely out of ivory (!!!). It was perhaps made in France or Spain. The level of detail is mind boggling. It has the tiniest tableau!
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Once again thinking about this 17th-century gal with mica overlays that provide her with lots of costume options. The early modern answer to paper dolls! Sold by Elliott and Grace Snyder
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Today’s favourite objects are the embroideries of Mary Delany, who is most well known for what she called “paper mosaiks.” The embroideries are both from the early 1740s. She was such a master of translating flowers into other media!
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Posted this on Instagram a few days ago but I love it too much not to post it here, too. What a funky piece of embroidery! It's a pocketbook made for John Storrs in 1754. It was very likely made by his 12-year-old sister, Lydia, as part of her education. It's in
@TheCTMuseum
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I AM FREE IT IS DONE I CAN CALL MYSELF DR ROSNER IN AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY WOOOHOOOOO
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Still thinking about this gorgeous silk embroidered court suit and waistcoat on display in “Crown to Couture” at
@HRP_palaces
. The circa 1790 suit is richly embroidered with flowers, fruit, and wheat sheaves 🌾
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I passed my viva with minor corrections today! Thank you so much to
@johnstyles1949
and
@ProfCatherineR
for a thought provoking conversation and to
@evelynwelch2013
and
@LauraGowing
for their invaluable supervision. Thanks also go to my very supportive family and friends. Woohoo!
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Catching up on the Met Gala looks, some of which I love and some of which I hate, and wish I was seeing more discussion about how all of these garments were made and who did that work. This little video offers us a glimpse into that labour — I need more!
alia bhatt wearing a custom sabyasachi saree for the met gala 2024 — it is detailed with florals delicately hand embroidered! 💕
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Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744) is??? Absolutely wild???
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Saw this antique pig purse on and I have a mighty need
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Thinking about my favourite 17th-century embroidered rabbits this Easter. They come from a 1640s redwork jacket, Martha Edlin's 1671 casket, 1686 raised work picture, and circa 1620 valance. All are in the collection of the
@V_and_A
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I submitted my PhD thesis yesterday! Thank you so much to my supervisors
@evelynwelch2013
and
@LauraGowing
for their guidance and support. And thank you to the 17th- and 18th-century Quaker girls and women of London and Philly for making such opulent needle, wax, and shellwork!
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Just learned about this extremely funky piece of embroidery. It's a map of Pennsylvania made out of different needle lace techniques, probably worked around 1840. It's in the Atwater Kent Collection now at Drexel University. I've not come across anything like it before!
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The woman depicted here is Johanna Le Maire. In this portrait she holds a pair of embroidered gloves, which she wore at her June 1622 wedding and which still survive. Both the portrait and the gloves are in the collection of
@rijksmuseum
Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy
Portrait of a Man, aged 27, 1632
Portrait of a Woman, aged 21, 1632
These are wedding portraits.
(The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles,)
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It’s
@megeroberts
’ birthday and she’s really into historical apothecaries so her mom made her an 18th-century apothecary CAKE and it’s truly unbelievable
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This embroidered hanging, reminiscent of painted or printed palampores, comes from late 17th or early 18th-century India. It is absolutely stunning, with its silk threads still so colourful and lustrous. Even better that it's huge, at approximately 10 feet by 8.5 feet
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I can't tell you how much I love seeing the back of historical embroidery. More often than not, the backs are really vibrant, much more so than one expects. The front has usually faded to subdued tones over centuries of light exposure. Here's a 17th-c. example from
@ROMtoronto
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I love this early 17th-century ring from the
@britishmuseum
because it's like just a normal diamond flower thing, right? WRONG. Lift up those diamonds to reveal an inexplicably charming skull!!
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Loving Elleanor (Ellen) Mahon’s needlework sampler book, made at the Boyle School in Ireland in 1852-1854 and now at the
@V_and_A
. These records allowed girls to show potential employers all of their needle skills at once. I’m obsessed with the tiny dresses, socks, and gloves
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As an aggressive John Singer Sargent fangirl and fashion and textile history person, I am screaming!!!!!
✨ Fashion, identity, painting... tickets are on sale today for
#SargentAndFashion
, a show that celebrates
#JohnSingerSargent
’s striking portraits of stylish sitters. 🎀 See almost 60 paintings alongside period garments from the portraits themselves.
🎟️
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Can't believe I JUST learned about the embroidered map shawls of Kashmir. In this embroidered map of Srinagar we can see the city's lake, river, mosque, and fort alongside houses, figures, and Persian inscriptions. It was made c. 1870 and is now in the
@V_and_A
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Happy Christmas Eve from me and this absolutely iconic dress 🎄🎄
It feels so cold and festive today! This time of year always reminds me of this amazing circa 1770 robe à la française sold by Cora Ginsburg a few years ago. I think
I probably tweet it every year, but I just can't help it. The cypress trees look just like Christmas trees!🎄
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I desperately need to make an entire wardrobe out of this fabric
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Thinking about John Craske, a Norfolk fisherman who started embroidering after contracting influenza while fighting in WWI. His doctor suggested he embroider to occupy himself. These are from the Dereham Heritage Trust, The Red House, and Norwich Castle Museum
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For some reason I never looked through the online collection of
@cdmtextil
and I’m so glad I finally did! Here are some of their many embroidered late 18th-early 19th century dresses and one of their dresses from the last quarter of the eighteen century. Heavenly!
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Just posted this on Instagram (
@historicembroidery
) and had to share it here because it is SO good! Stitched in France around 1720, decorated with some beautiful metal thread embroidery. It’s at
@narodnimuzeum
now and I LOVE IT
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Just learned about Michelangelo Jesurum's polychrome lace and I'm obsessed! He established a lace school on Pellestrina in 1870 and was awarded a medal at the 1878 Exposition Universelle for his lace innovation. Examples are in the Lacis Museum,
@V_and_A
, and private collections
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Thinking about this 1780-90 dress in the National History Museum of Mexico, a rare survival from Mexico, then called New Spain. The dress, embroidered with wild roses, is typical of New Spanish style, with a stomacher on top of its bodice and lots of sequins, metal, and glass
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Just came across the excellent phrase "ye Rude Boyes" in a 1688 Quaker meeting and now I'm gonna go around calling everyone ye rude boyes
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Very obsessed with this dress panel from c. 1780, intended to be part of a woman’s robe parée. The appliqué and embroidery is unbelievably masterful. The panel is now at the
@V_and_A
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The blackwork embroidery depicted in some of the 16th/17th-century portraits at the
@Tate
is SO good
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Really loved seeing “Re-Embroidering Blackwork: An Unstitched Coif and Other Works,” which shows 40 embroidered coifs from all over the world, based on an early 17th-century example in the
@V_and_A
. This project is part of Toni Buckby’s practice-led PhD project
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@Betsy_Cazden
Because I never actually came across him in the records I looked at! Slightly too late and in the wrong place. Same for the Public Universal Friend
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Having a little scream over this stunning dress! This dress, embroidered with polychrome metal threads, was possibly worn in the 1840s by Princess Eugenie of Sweden and Norway. It's now in the collection of
@shm_swe
and boy oh boy is it beautiful!!
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Absolutely buzzing from my first day as the curator of the
@RoyalNeedlework
! I cannot believe I get to work with such wonderful textiles! And at a palace! The sun eventually came out to make my first day even better. What a dream come true! ☀️
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It’s my birthday today and though the skies are grey I’m loving how lush and green everything looks!
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Sent my parents an early Hanukkah present in the form of a bouquet made out of cupcakes and after receiving this picture of it I’m jealous they’ll get to eat this much frosting 🧁
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Today I saw Rembrandt’s 1635-37 drawings of women teaching babies to walk at
@britishmuseum
. They’re some of my favourite depictions of pudding caps! You can really feel the tenderness and care. I also fell in love with Adriaen van Ostade’s 1672 depiction of a woman sewing
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Thinking about the very rare 17th-century embroidered caskets and cabinets with interior gardens. The first is from
@GWTextileMuseum
and has a garden with flowers made of silk. The second is from
@V_and_A
and features a garden with flowers, fruit trees, and sculpted ivory figures
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I have to mute this conversation because I can't keep up with the Big Light Discourse™. I can't believe I didn't know this was such a divisive issue! All the Big Light hate has made me double down on my Big Light love. Solidarity to all the Big Light fans!!
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Today's favourite Judaica is Jewish wedding rings. These are from the 17th century except for the ring in the second image, which is from the 14th century (!!!)
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Keep getting distracted from PhD writing by this boned velvet bodice with shaded silk embroidery, probably made in Italy around 1680, that was in Cora Ginsburg's 2001 catalogue. I truly cannot stop thinking about it. I want my own version and I want to wear it everyday!!!
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The winter sunsets from my office window are stunning. Photos don’t do them justice!
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Big into Empress Shōken’s c. 1910 court dress!! It’s now in the Kyoritsu Women's University Museum collection
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Will always love 19th-century needlework instruction books for their tiny clothing (as well as their very precise stitching, of course) ❤️
From our archives comes this very rare needlework instruction book, with samples of sewing, darning, embroidery, knitting, and miniature clothing, used at the Female Model school in Kildare Place, Dublin. The cover is inscribed "Sarah Darby 1837"
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These bad boys popped into my head during my walk this morning and now I can't think about anything else (nor do I want to). They're both English patchwork dressing gowns. The first is circa 1825 (at
@metmuseum
) and the second is circa 1835 (at
@maasmuseum
). I want one!!!!
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Thinking a lot about this object, a circa 1837-50 embroidered panel in the
@burrellcollect
. The object, which seems to have been made by a Scottish woman in prison, includes a depiction of the prisoner herself. Embroidered self-portraits of prisoners are exceptionally rare
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