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Blackwork Embroidery

ca. 1590
Not on view
With deceptive simplicity, skilled English embroiderers worked the finest Flemish linen, called "lawne," with black silk. Here, the Tudor roses, pomegranates, and rose hips are filled in with at least ten different minute patterns, highlighted with stitched chains of gilded silver-wrapped silk floss, called "Gold of Venice." Blackwork embroidery decorated royal household linens as well as items of clothing like neckerchiefs sported by Henry VIII; a pair of sleeves owned by his third wife, Jane Seymour; and panels for Queen Elizabeth's kirtles, the bodices and skirts worn under her gowns.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Blackwork Embroidery
  • Date: ca. 1590
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: Linen embroidered with silk and gilded silver precious metal-wrapped threads
  • Dimensions: Overall: 8 1/2 × 1 ft. 2 1/4 in. (21.6 × 36.2 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The James Parker Charitable Foundation Gift, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.598
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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