Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Kingdom A & S results
So, my napkins were a hit. I came away from the competition with a bag of loot (to use a fun phrase), a pilgrims badge, and an alternate invitation to compete in Gulf Wars, not too bad for my second competition. I will have the opportunity to represent our Kingdom if one or two other people are not able to send their projects to Mississippi this year. The pilgrims badge is my first SCA related reward I have ever gotten that comes with bragging rites, as you have to score a 40+ out of 50 available points to get the badge in the arts and sciences competition. The biggest thing that was suggested was to find an example of blackwork being used on a napkin during period. That comment gave me a "no duh" moment and that was followed by "why didn't I think about that before now". I found a couple items that were similar, one being a towel (red spanishwork) and one being a table cloth (doesn't say blackwork, but looks like it), but no napkins even though I have more searching to do. I also have found reference to other spanishwork napkins and other embroidered napkins, but am having a doozy of a time finding images as most napkins in the museums are Damascus linen with the weave making the pattern, most aren't embroidered at all. Now the question remains, is this due to not many examples of blackwork surviving due the the dying process for the silk or is it due to the laundering process, or was blackwork never put on napkins (I believe it is the prior reasons though). I really do believe that it was used on napkins in the upper class households, just that there were none/very few that actually survived. I think I need to get Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd again to look at the list of items she had and see if any are mentioned there.
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Congrats on the prime showing! I'm with you, small embroidered cloths were used for lots of things, at table being only one potential use.
ReplyDeleteNapkins in the modern size and square are more of an 18th century and on thing. Multipurpose coverpanes were more common in the 1500s - they were rectangular, not square, more shaped like towels, and slightly larger than modern placemats. By comparison, chalice veils were usually square and around modern napkin-size, but they usually bear religious mottoes or motifs (duh) and shouldn't be confused with table linen.
Many towel/coverpanes woven, for sure, but embroidered ones survive in museum collections, as do tons of borders now separated from original ground, in lengths that would have been suited for this purpose. Coverpanes were roughly a yard or so long and about 1.5 feet wide (give or take), they were used to cover the placesetting at table before dining started, and then as placemats or napkins during the meal (often worn over the shoulder rather than on the lap). Since there's no differentiation between coverpanes, small cloths, towels, lap-napkins used to protect books during reading, and the like, it's impossible to say any one small size piece of decorated linen was definitely used for just one of those purposes.
Here's a red coverpane at the Art Institute of Chicago (multicolor): http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/2295 Another in muted color counted patterns at the V&A: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O130293/towel/ And a multicolor from the V&A: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O130302/cover/
Here's a towel end at the MFA: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/end-of-towel-72131
When looking in collections for other sources, try looking for "counterpane", "cloth" or "towel" instead of napkin.
Also you're spot on about black threads. They were fragile due to the acidic nature of black dyes. Red madder-based dyes survived better, and most of the edging examples that still live are red.
Finally here's a painting with an equivocal object at table (woven or stitched - unknown, but black on white): http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bassano/jacopo/1/08lastsx.html
Hope this helps, and again congrats on your prize! - I.
Are you sure you are not my dopelganger twin or just plain psychic? I had already found the muted and multicolor images and the V&A, but the other ones are new, and you knew exactly what I was looking for. I was searching paintings yesterday, but hadn't found the one you listed. Here is another couple sources I think you might like, it is for table covers though: http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/120031128?rpp=20&pg=1&ao=on&ft=TABLE+LINEN&when=A.D.+1400-1600http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/120031128?rpp=20&pg=1&ao=on&ft=TABLE+LINEN&when=A.D.+1400-1600&pos=3#fullscreen&pos=3#fullscreen
Deletehttp://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/120041974?rpp=20&pg=10&ao=on&ft=TABLE+LINEN&when=A.D.+1400-1600&pos=183#fullscreen
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/120037361?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=TABLE+LINEN&when=A.D.+1600-1800&pos=1#fullscreen
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O119345/napkin/
These were a couple potentially applicable images I found. Thanks for the other images that I hadn't seen yet. I really should just move into the V&A Museum, lol.....
I think we're just flying in formation. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very familiar with this stuff right now because I'm in the middle of graphing up a vast amount of it for TNCM2. I'm also preparing for a style survey talk I'm giving at Hrim Schola http://www.eastkingdom.org/EventDetails.html?eid=2225. Plus, I'm delighted to be able to help.