Stitching together 17th century story

This is the first public exhibition drawn from Oxfordshire-based Micheal and Elizabeth Feller’s truly fabulous collection of 17th century embroideries.

The collection is the result of more than 20 years of collecting, which has culminated in a body of work that is an opportunity for embroiderers and embroidery enthusiasts to revel in the range, complexity and quality of the stitching. In addition it also provides the more generalists amongst us with the opportunity to reflect on the lives, mores, expectations of and constraints on the genteel women of that time.

Expectations include the requirements of piety, obedience and diligence. All of which, it needs to be remembered, was set against the tumultuous background of the 17th century.— a century which started with the death of Good Queen Bess, continued with the reign of James I of England and VI of Scotland, encompassed the Civil War, the restoration of Charles II and William of Orange’s ‘Glorious Revolution’ towards the century’s end.

These aspects are captured by the quite beautiful curation of Mary M. Brooks, academic and self-confessed embroiderer. She has ensured that the work is hung at a height that makes it possible to examine each piece in all its glorious detail. And each piece is accompanied by helpful text which, in addition to describing the scene or scenes depicted, also provides a description of the materials and techniques used. Also on display is an explanation of the tools of the 17th century needlewoman’s trade, illustrated by replicas of contemporary threads: silk, metallic and other, needles (which at the start of the century were still being imported from Nuremberg and by the end of which were being manufactured in England) and some substantial pins whose sheer crude bulk sits in stark contrast to the delicacy of the needlework. The exhibition has been deliberately designed to be highly inter-active and as such is accompanied by a substantial programme of lectures and workshops.

It opens with a section on Learning the Skills, which contains a series of beautifully worked samplers that illustrate techniques from the simplest to the most detailed and complex. Each sampler contains a wealth of stitches that would probably have served as an aide-memoire for future pieces as well as an opportunity to rehearse those stitches.

Included are a few pieces from the Ashmolean’s own collection, such as the delightful little Frog Purse, illustrated below. And there is also a helpful trail guide that links the exhibition with pieces in the museum’s permanent display.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

The exhibition provides the opportunity to compare very different needlework approaches to the same subject, as in the three very different pieces that tell the story of The Sacrifice of Isaac, in which God commands Abraham to sacrifice his own son, relenting at the last minute to allow a sheep to be substituted instead. In M I’s 1663 version in beadwork, split stitch and couching, Abraham with sword raised has his hand stayed by an intervening angel whilst a miserable ram is captured in the background, caught in a thicket and anticipating its fate. The complexity of the piece and the power of the story are both enhanced by the strong colours and rhythmic patterns of the beadwork. By contrast, two tent stitched pieces, of the same subject, incorporate wider rural landscapes with an angular modernity courtesy of the difficulty of encompassing curves in the very formal structure of tent stitch.

There are also four very different versions of The Judgement of Solomon. In each, as seen here, Solomon is flanked by the two mothers with the live and dead child. This exquisite piece is worked in needlepoint lace on plain weave undyed linen, which has been cut and then reworked to create a remarkable three dimensional lacy effect, the whole decorated with 400 pearls in the main on the figures’ clothes and on Solomon’s aristocratic tent.

It is in line with the exhortation of the contemporary household guru, Hannah Woolley “it is more commendable a great deal to wear one’s own work than to be made fine with the art of others” (1674). This exquisite Lady’s Cap has been worked in button hole, long and short and chain stitch, its vibrant freshness enhanced by a scattering of small gold sequins, all of which must have brought considerable commendation to the maker who wore it.

This is an exhibition that will speak to embroiderers, historians, anyone with an eye for beauty and skill or a curiosity about the lives of and requirements on those women who made each piece some 400 years ago. It is for this reason The Oxford Times and Oxford Mail are delighted and proud to be the exhibition’s media partners.

The Eye of the Needle: English Embroideries from Feller Collection
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Until October 12, open Tuesday to Saturday
Call 01865 278000 or visit www.ashmolean.org