Quilts Part 2

Made in Ohio about 1840. Beautifully quilted in medallions and pineapples of original design. Colors: red, pink, and green]

Applique, or applied work, has never been used in France to the same extent as in England, even though the French name "applique" is more frequently used than any other. However, there is one striking example of applique work, of Rhenish or French origin, now hanging in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This realistic patchwork represents a fight between an armoured knight mounted on a high-stepping white horse and a ferocious dragon. The designs are arranged in a fashion similar to the blocks in a modern quilt, and depict several scenes showing the progress of the combat. There is also a border covered closely with figures of monks, knights, and ladies.

An extract from "First Steps in Collecting," by Grace M. Vallois, gives an interesting glimpse of an old French attic. An object of great interest to us is the old, unfinished quilt she discovered there: "A rummaging expedition in a French _grenier_ yields more treasures than one taken in an English lumber room. The French are more conservative; they dislike change and never throw away anything.

Among valuable antiques found in the _grenier_ of a Louis XV house in the Pyrenees were some rare curtains of white linen ornamented with designs cut from beautiful old chintz; the edges of the applied designs were covered with tightly twisted cotton cord. Also, in the same room, in a drawer of an old chestnut-wood bureau, was found an unfinished bed quilt very curiously worked. It was of linen with a filling of rather soft cotton cord about an eighth of an inch wide.

These cords were held in place by rows of minute st.i.tching of white silk, making the bedcover almost solid needlework. Besides the quilting there were at rather wide intervals conventional flowers in peac.o.c.k shades of blue and green silk executed in chain st.i.tch. When found, the needle was still sticking in one of the flowers, and many were traced ready for work. The traced lines appear to have been made with India ink and were very clear and delicate. What caused the abrupt interruption of the old quilt no one can tell. It is possible that the great terror of 1793 caused the patient maker to flee from her unfinished task."

In the countries of northern Europe there is scarcely any record concerning the art of quilting and patchwork, and little can be said beyond the fact that both existed in some form or other. In Germany the quilt so familiar to us is practically unknown. In the past applique was very little used, except as cut work, or _opus consutum_, in blazonments and heraldic devices. The thick feather beds of medieval Germany were covered with various kinds of thick comforts filled with either wool or feathers, and sometimes spa.r.s.ely quilted.

The only decoration of the comfort consisted of a band of ornamental work, ten to twenty inches wide, usually worked in cross-st.i.tch design with brightly coloured yarns. These bands were generally loose upon the comfort, one edge being held down by the pillow, but occasionally they were sewed to the edge of the bedcover.

In a work on arts and crafts relating to their presence in Sweden, it is written that "woven hangings were used to decorate the timbered walls of the halls of the vikings. They were hung over the temples, and they decorated the timber sepulchres of the dead. When the timbered grave of the Danish queen, Fyra Danabode, who died about 950, was opened, remains of woven woollen cloth were found." As far back as Swedish records go it can be shown that Swedish women wove and sewed figured material.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FINE EXAMPLE OF OLD GERMAN APPLIQUe

Now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York]

[Ill.u.s.tration: DOUBLE X

A modern quilt. Colours: blue and white]

On account of the cold there is urgent need of wall hangings, and they are used extensively throughout Scandinavia. On festive occasions the stiff, cold appearance of Swedish peasants' homes is transformed by the gay wall coverings to one of hospitality and warmth. The hangings used are made of linen, either painted or embroidered in bright colours. The painted ones are especially interesting as they depict many historical scenes. Allegorical and religious subjects are also used to decorate many of these linen hangings. The Swedes are very patriotic, and on their wall hangings show all the saints clad in typical Swedish costumes. The apostles wear Swedish jack boots, loose collars, and pea jackets; and Joseph, as governor of Egypt, is shown wearing a three-cornered hat and smoking a pipe.

There is a valuable collection of Swedish needlework in the Northern Museum of Stockholm, dating from 1639 to the nineteenth century. Among this collection there are a few small pieces of applied work: some cushions, glove gauntlets, and a woman's handbag. It is possible that patchwork was used more extensively than the museum's display would indicate, but since large pieces are very rarely found, patchwork was evidently not held in the same esteem as embroidery and painting.

CHAPTER III

PATCHWORK AND QUILTING IN OLD ENGLAND

In searching for the beginning of needlework in England, the first authentic date revealed relating directly to this subject is 709, when the Bishop of Sherborne writes of the skill Englishwomen had attained at that time in the use of the needle. Preserved in various museums are some examples of Anglo-Saxon embroidery of uncertain date, that are known to have been made before the Bishop of Sherborne's time. Mention should also be made of the wonderful Bayeux Tapestry. This ancient piece is 227 feet long and twenty inches wide, and is of great historical interest, in that it ill.u.s.trates events of English history from the accession of Edward the Confessor to the English defeat at Hastings by the Normans in 1066. There is some doubt as to whether this tapestry, which has the characteristic of typical applique--namely, the absence of shading--is actually of English workmanship, but it is unquestionably of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was first hung in Bayeux Cathedral in 1476.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PUSS-IN-THE-CORNER

A beautifully quilted design made about 1855. Colours: a dull green calico having small red flowers and white]

[Ill.u.s.tration: TEA LEAVES

A quaint old design combining a pieced block with an applied leaf stem. Colours: green and white]

It is a generally accepted fact that applique and embroidery are closely related and of about equal age, although relatively few examples of the former are preserved in collections of needlework. One of the oldest authentic bits of applique is at Stonyhurst College. It represents a knight clad in full armour, mounted on a spirited galloping horse. The horse is covered with an elaborately wrought blanket and has an imposing ornament on his head. The knight wears a headdress of design similar to that of the horse and, with arm uplifted and sword drawn, appears about to attack a foe. This work is well done, and the pose of both man and horse shows spirit. It is said to have been made during the thirteenth century. Preserved to us from this same period is the tattered fragment of a coat worn by Edward, the Black Prince, and which now hangs over his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral. With it are the helmet and gauntlets he wore and the shield he carried. The coat is of a red and blue velvet, now sadly faded, applied to a calico background and closely quilted. It is too elaborate to have been made to wear under his armour, and was probably worn during state functions where armour was not required, although it was then customary to wear thickly padded and quilted coats and hoods in order to ease the weight of the heavy and unyielding coats of mail.

Much of the best needlework in England at this early period was for the church. Neither labour nor expense was spared to make the magnificent decorations used in the old cathedrals. Aside from the linens, silks, and velvets used in this construction, much gold and silver bullion was wrought into the elaborate altar hangings, altar fronts, and ecclesiastical vestments. In their ornamentation applied work was freely used, especially on the large hangings draped over the altar.

It was during the earliest period that the Latin name _opus consutum_ was commonly used to designate patchwork. Chain st.i.tch also was much used on early English embroidery; to such an extent that it is now of great service as an identification mark to fix the dates of medieval needlework. Chain st.i.tch was dignified by the Latin name _opus anglicanum_. Only the most elaborate and richest of embroideries have been preserved; the reason being that much of the work was done with silver and gold threads which were in reality fine wires of these precious metals. Being exceedingly costly, they were given unusual care, many being kept with the royal plate and jewels. One specimen made in 905 by Aelfled, the queen of Edward, the Elder, is now treasured in Durham Cathedral. It is described as being "of almost solid gold thread, so exquisitely embroidered that it resembles a fine illuminated ma.n.u.script," and is indescribably beautiful. In many instances the fabrics of these old embroideries have partly fallen away, leaving only frail fragments of the original material held together by the lasting threads of gold and silver.

The great amount of precious metals used in making the richest garments and hangings sometimes made them objects to be desired by avaricious invaders. In an inventory of the contents of Cardinal Wolsey's great palace at Hampton Court there are mentioned, among many other rare specimens of needlework of that period, "230 bed hangings of English embroidery." None of them is now in existence, and it is supposed that they were torn apart in order to fill the coffers of some vandal who preferred the metal in them to their beauty as hangings.

Among the sumptuous furnishings belonging to the Tudor period, applied work held a prominent place. Vast s.p.a.ces of cold palace walls were covered by great wall hangings, archways were screened, and every bed was enclosed with curtains made of stoutly woven material, usually more or less ornamented. This was before the advent of French tapestry, which later supplanted the English applique wall draperies.

The Tudor period was also the time when great rivalry in dress existed. "The esquire endeavoured to outshine the knight, the knight the baron, the baron the earl, the earl the king himself, in the richness of his apparel."

[Ill.u.s.tration: FEATHER STAR

Made about 1850. Colours: blue and white]

[Ill.u.s.tration: DRUNKARD'S PATH

A modern quilt after an old pattern. Colours: light blue and white]

In direct contrast to the long inventories of beautiful and valuable clothing, bedcovers, and hangings of the rich, are the meagre details relating to the life and household effects of the landless English peasant. In all probability he copied as far as he was able some of the utilities and comforts used by his superiors. If he possessed a cover for his bed, it was doubtless made of the cheapest woven material obtainable. No doubt the pieced or patched quilt contributed materially to his comfort. In "Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages," Julia de Wolf Addison describes a child's bed quilt included in an inventory of furniture at the Priory in Durham in 1446, "which was embroidered in the four corners with the Evangelistic symbols." In the "Squier of Lowe Degree," a fifteenth-century romance, there is allusion to a bed of which the head sheet is described as embroidered "with diamonds and rubies bright."

It was during the gorgeous reign of Henry VIII that the finest specimens of combined embroidery and patchwork, now preserved in various museums, were made. It was really patch upon patch, for before the motives were applied to the foundation they were elaborately embroidered in intricate designs; and after being applied, they had their edges couched with gold and silver cord and ornate embroidery st.i.tches. Mrs. Lowes relates in "Old Lace and Needlework" that, during the time of Henry VIII, embroidery, as distinct from garment making, appeared; and every article of wearing apparel became an object worthy of decoration. "Much fine st.i.tching was put into the fine white undergarments of that time, and the overdresses of both men and women became stiff with gold thread and jewels. Much use was made of slashing and quilting, the point of junction being dotted with pearls and precious stones. n.o.ble ladies wore dresses heavily and richly embroidered with gold, and the train was so weighty that train bearers were pressed into service. In the old paintings the horses belonging to kings and n.o.bles wear trappings of heavily embroidered gold. Even the hounds, which are frequently represented with their masters, have collars ma.s.sively decorated with gold bullion."

Mary, Queen of Scots, was devoted to the needle and was expert in its use. It is said that while in France she learned lace making and embroidery. Many wall hangings, bed draperies, bedcovers, and house linens are the work of her skilful fingers, or were made under her personal direction. A number of examples of her work are now owned by the Duke of Devonshire. It is said also that many of the French costumes and laces of her wardrobe were appropriated by Queen Elizabeth, who had little sympathy for the unfortunate queen. As a solace during long days of loneliness, Queen Mary found consolation in her needle, as have many women of lower degree before and since her unhappy time. She stands forth as the most expert and indefatigable of royal needleworkers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE IRIS DESIGN

In this design the iris has been conventionalized so as to make it consistent with its natural growth--the flowers stretching up in a stately array beyond their long-pointed leaves]

Hardwick Hall is intimately a.s.sociated with Queen Mary's life, and is rich in relics of her industry. In one room named for her there are bed curtains and a quilt said to be her own work. Extracts from old letters relating to her conduct during captivity show how devoted she was to her needlework. An attendant, on being asked how the queen pa.s.sed her time, wrote, "that all day she wrought with her nydil and that the diversity of the colours made the work seem less tedious and that she contynued so long at it that veray payn made hir to give over." This shows that fatigue alone made her desist from her beloved work.

There is a very interesting fragment of a bed hanging at Hardwick Hall said to have been made by Queen Mary. It is of applied patchwork, with cream-coloured medallions curiously ornamented by means of designs singed with a hot iron upon the light-coloured velvet. The singed birds, flowers, and b.u.t.terflies are outlined with black silk thread.

The worked medallions are applied to a foundation of green velvet, ornamented between and around them with yellow silk cord. This is only one of a number of examples of curious and beautiful patchwork still in existence and attributed to the Tudor period.

Queen Elizabeth herself was not devoted to needlework, but judging from the accounts of the gorgeous costumes which she delighted to wear, she was one of its greatest patronesses. It is said that at her death she left one of the most extensive wardrobes of history: in it were more than a thousand dresses, which were most voluminous in style and elaborately trimmed with bullion, pearls, and jewels. Before the precious stones were applied, her garments were solidly covered with gold and silver quilting and embroidery, which made them so heavy as to be a noticeable burden even for this proud and ambitious queen. In Berkeley Castle, as prized mementoes of Queen Elizabeth, are five white linen cushions beautifully embroidered with silver threads and cherry-coloured silk. Also with them is the quilt, a wonderful piece of needlework, that matches the hangings of the bed wherein she slept.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STAR OF THE EAST

Elaborate pineapple quilting designs in the corners.

Colours: red and white]

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITE QUILT WITH TUFTED BORDER

Now in Metropolitan Museum, New York]

The magnificence of Queen Elizabeth's reign gave great impetus to all kinds of needlework. France at that time led in the development of fine arts, and furnished many of the skilled workmen employed by the n.o.bility solely as embroiderers. There seemed to be no limit to the ambitions of these workers, and the gorgeous results of their labours were beyond anything attempted after them.

To those who wish to study the work of the Tudor period, Hardwick Hall is recommended as the place where the best specimens have been preserved. To Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwick, born in 1520, and so poor that her marriage portion as the bride of the Earl of Shrewsbury was only thirty pounds, credit is given for the richness of this collection. She was a woman of great ability in the management of her estates, became very wealthy, and gave employment to many people.

Included among her dependents were many needleworkers who plied their trade under rigorous administration. Elizabeth of Shrewsbury was a hard mistress, but not above doing an occasional bit of needlework herself, for some pieces bearing her initials and done with remarkable skill are preserved in the collection. She, as much as any Englishwoman, fostered and developed applied patchwork along the ambitious line of pictorial needlework.

In Hardwick Hall are several hangings of pictorial needlework that are very interesting. One of black velvet has a picture of a lady strongly resembling Queen Elizabeth. She carries a book in her hand and at her feet reclines a turbaned Turk. In the background is an ecclesiastical hanging which is embroidered to represent a cathedral window. The realistic effect of the whole picture is gained by the use of coloured silks cut in correct proportions and applied to the velvet foundation; very little embroidery entering into the main composition. Another hanging, also of black velvet, has an even more ambitious design. It is described by M. Jourdain in "The History of English Secular Embroidery" as follows: "The ornamentation on the black velvet is with applique in coloured silks consisting of figures under arches. In the centre is 'Lucrecia,' on the left 'Chast.i.te,' and on the right 'Liberalitas.' The oval panel on the right contains a shield bearing the arms of Hardwick." At each end of the hanging are fluted Ionic columns, and a decorated frieze is carried across the top. The figures have grace and beauty; the drapery of their robes falls in natural folds; and altogether it is a remarkable picture to have been made with patches.

That this fine collection of medieval needlework is preserved for the admiration of people to-day is due to the faithful execution of the Countess of Shrewsbury's will, in which she left all her household furnishings, entailed as heirlooms, to always remain in her House of Hardwick.

In the interesting Hardwick collection are pieces of beautiful needlework known to have been used by Mary, Queen of Scots, during the years she spent as a prisoner at Tutbury. Her rooms there, furnished in regal splendour, are still kept just as she arranged them. The Earl of Shrewsbury was her custodian, and his wife, the countess, often sat and sewed with the unfortunate queen, both making pastime of their needlework.