https://www.folger.edu/blogs/collation/covering-esther/
"The Folger has a significant collection of 16th and 17th century embroidered
book bindings, including three by the early modern artist Esther Inglis. So
when the curation team (Georgianna Ziegler, Heather Wolfe, and Ashley Buchanan)
behind the
Little Books, Big Gifts: the Artistry of Esther Inglis contacted
us to reproduce the embroidery on one of Inglis’s books, we were thrilled.
As needlework historians who spend a lot of time in libraries as well as with
objects, we are keenly aware that books are frequently viewed primarily through
their text. But the materiality of books can be fascinating as well. This is
especially true in the case of Inglis’s work because she was a calligrapher and
limner and the pages of her books display the beauty of that artistry. Many of
her works also show her work as a needlewoman in their elaborately embroidered
bindings.
Esther Inglis understood the value of needlework in general, and specifically,
the beauty and worth that it could add to her books. She created works of art
with her calligraphy and illustrations to give to nobility and royalty, with
the possible goal of creating reciprocal relationships with lucrative returns.
The use of richly embroidered book bindings as gifts to the ruling elite was a
strategy used by many people during and after Inglis’s life. Inglis knew that
embroidered book bindings would enhance the attractiveness of her work.
With the team from the Folger, we chose to reproduce the cover of V.a.93, an
Inglis manuscript from 1599. The cover was faded, the metal thread tarnished,
dirty, and worn, the silk thread was degraded to such a state it was hard to
distinguish the original design, and only two pearls remained of the several
hundred that originally existed. This was so worn that, of all the Inglis
embroidered books in the Folger’s collection, it would be the most dramatic
“makeover” – and the most challenging! This project required us to exert some
real Sherlock Holmes’-type of skills of observation and deduction (as well as
plenty of experimentation) to bring this back to life to resemble its original
state in copy form. Through this process, we were able to gain technical
insight into Inglis’s embroideries."
Via John Overholt and Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
