Look Beneath The Titian

If you are holidaying abroad, for example in Venice, it is so easy to be enthralled with all the paintings and architecture and perhaps miss some textile treasures close by. This is a detail from a very interesting tapestry which leans against an altar in Santa Maria Della Salute, right beneath a Titian and likely to be overlooked on account of this position. The lion, rabbit, resting hind and dog look oh so familiar, don't they?

On the other side of the tapestry is this wonderful depiction of daily life in what appears to be Venice-in-Constantinople, reminiscent of the orientalized Carpaccios in the Scuolo di San Georgio.

And here you can see the larger panels from which these details were extracted.

And below is the full panel - please forgive the reflections as this was taken daylight with out special lighting. What makes this panel ultra special is that it was made in Bruges in the 1500s after a painting by the Italian artist Mantegna - illustrating the artistic routes that existed between the pre-eminent and far flung trading duchies of the North and South Renaissance.

Is This The First?

I just saw the V&A latest offerings - and amongst them this......Christmas card! Is this the first of the year? Did I totally miss summer while working on the new book - could it be autumn already? However, I do have to say that I love this deer design and have ordered mine today - they come in packs of 10 for £4.75. The design is from a crewel embroidered bed-hanging of 1680-1700 worked by Abigail Pett. The greeting inside reads: With all good wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.Click here for more details of how to purchase.

Andrew Tanner Cross Stitch Mugs

I was down on the South Bank in London today enjoying the deck chairs and beach huts and summer gaiety along the banks of the Thames. I love the South Bank Design Store and popped in there to see what was new and spotted these mugs made by Andrew Tanner and just had to show you. I am not sure how these would translate out of English, but I'll do my best to give you a flavour of their meaning. Southern Softie means you don't have to quarry coal for 8 hours before you can afford some bacon fat for breakfast. (Grits require additional overtime...)

Grim is associated with grime and grimace, anything grimbly in fact - do you get my gist? Perhaps not if you are from the South and these words are a foreign language to you. Oh dear, let's move on.

Now duck is just another word for pet or petal, love or dearie, flower or darling. So this translates as words can never express the depth of feeling I have for you my dearest, love of my life, and if they could, I don't believe I could ever quite find the energy in my deepest soul to express them, even if, by some miracle, I felt the inclination or motivation.

Chin wag loosely translates as: Goodness me wherever did the morning go, we have reconstructed the deconstructed universe and now are gasping for another cuppa - get the kettle on, will you, my duck?

This last is self-evident and is not to be confused with a Baccarat champagne flute (that would be lovely bubbly). For more details on Andrew Tanner mugs, click here.

Witney Antiques Annual Exhibition * Samplers - Products of a Youthful Mind * 16-29 October 2011

The exibition featuring samplers from 1660-1880 will be open at Witney Antiques 10am - 5pm daily. Admission is free. There will also be exhibits by Christopher and Angela Legge, specialists in Oriental and Tribal Carpets and Rugs, and John Howard a world renowned expert who will be showing Early Staffordshire Pottery. Most exhibits will be for sale such as these samplers here. The one above is by Massey Gibbons stitched in 1801 at West Town School, Pennsylvania, America - see Needleprint Blog Post about this sampler - Massey entered West Town School in 1800 and embroidered this charming friendship sampler a year later. Typical of a series of samplers recorded as being worked at West Town, the sampler uses images found on Quaker samplers in both America and the UK. Framed, it measures 13 x 13 ins.

Above is a Brown Family Memorial Sampler stitched around 1835. Memorial and family register samplers were for some reason more popular in America than England. A note on the reverse of the sampler tells us that it was embroidered by Anna Maria Brown (1822 - 1900). Worked through a linen backing, the sampler is enclosed within a floral border. A large urn gives family details and is surrounded by two weeping willow trees in shaded long and short stitch. Contained in a period black ebonised frame it measures 17 x 18 ins.

Above you can see a work by Eliz Hooper who ‘Ended This Aged Eight Years 1728'. From the inscription at the base of this sampler we see that Eliz was exceptionally accomplished with her needle at a very young age. Worked in brilliantly unfaded floss silks on an unbleached linen ground, the sampler is worked in band format with alternating striking band patterns and moralistic texts.

And last but not least by Mary Williams dated 1809. This is an outstanding and rare map of Ireland showing clear Quaker influences in the style of lettering and the floral cartouche. Embroidered in coloured silks on fine linen this was probably Mary’s final piece before leaving school. The map bears a strong resemblance to that by Susanna Harvey embroidered in 1791 at nearby Mount Mellick Boarding School, illustrated Lanto Synge, Art of Embroidery, Fig. 198.