The
Egyptian Muslim influence on fashion through blackwork embroidery is evident in
paintings, as well as many historical items on display at various museums. “Some
of the patterns used on Mamluk textiles eventually spread to Europe and can be
seen in 16th-century German and Italian pattern books.” (“Sampler Fragment”) Egyptian
double-running stitch embroidery is the ancestor to European blackwork. Both
embroideries typically used linen with silk thread, using the Holbein stitch to
create their patterns. The pattern designs also had some similarities, but also
had their differences as the embroidery catered to different countries and
their own individual styles. The fact remains, however, that this style of
embroidery was the same.
Pre-15th
century Egyptian double-running stitch embroidery was “done in a counted-thread
technique (working over 2-4 threads, but primarily over 2) using a
double-running stitch (or a technique with an identical effect) with largely
geometric or highly stylized plant and animal motifs built up from horizontal
and vertical segments (extremely rarely, diagonal stitches or cross stitches
are used).” (H. Jones) When reading this description of Egyptian embroidery, it
is identical to the blackwork embroidery made popular in Europe in countries
such as England in the 16th century. This paper will compare and contrast
pre-15th century Egyptian embroidery to 16th century
European blackwork embroidery to prove that Egyptians influenced European
fashion through their embroidery.
Blackwork embroidery “had its origins much earlier in Egypt and the Middle East during the 13th through the 15th centuries during the Mamluk Sultanate” (Heath). The name Mamluk is Arabic and was used to describe Muslim rulers of slave origin. Toward the end of the 9th century, these warrior slaves had become an important segment in the military (“Mamluk”). The Mamluks “ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 until 1517, when their dynasty was extinguished by the Ottomans.” (Waterson) The Mamluks were part of the Muslim states. The Moors and the Mamluks were both Muslim and originated from northern Africa. Their embroidery patterns were related because both groups originated from the same Sultanate. This is supported by the fact that the Mamluk items found share a resemblance to Moorish geometric designs.
Both
the Moors and the Mamluks were originally part of the Umayyad Caliphate, which
ruled over northern Africa and later the Iberian Peninsula. "The Umayyads
ruled the Islamic world from 661 to 750 C.E." (Szczepanski) The Iberian
Peninsula is the name for the area of land that includes Spain and Portugal.
Before the reign of the new Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand in the late
15th century, the Moors had ruled much of the Spanish territory. The Moors
began the occupation of Spain in 711 AD when an African army, under their
leader Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from northern Africa
and invaded the Iberian peninsula known as 'Andalus'. The Moorish army defeated
the Visigoths and the remaining Romans that had been occupying the land. Within
a decade of this defeat, Christian Spain was under Islamic domination.
Even
after being evicted from Spain, many of the Moorish influences had been left
behind. After about 7 centuries of Moorish occupation, it is no wonder that the
Moors had heavily influenced Spanish culture. These influences included
architecture, textiles, and language. Unfortunately, finding examples of
pre-Moorish textiles from Hispania, the name that Spain was known by before the
Moorish occupation, has proven to be extremely difficult. “Spanish decorative
art over this period can be seen to express the Islamic principle of symmetry,
and the use of geometric motifs.” (Geddes and McNeill 14) The Moorish
embroidery had been used “to decorate household items such as towels, napkins
and cushion covers, as well as garments such as robes and veils” (Heath).
While
the Moors were occupying Spain, the Mamluks had been involved in trade with
Italy, which began as early as the 13th century. Trade routes had
already existed through Europe for centuries. For example, 9th and
10th century clothing in Viking graves in Sweden had materials from
Persia and China, with the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Ali’ woven on them (“Why Did
Vikings”). As pictured below, Alexandria in Egypt can be seen in the bottom
righthand corner. Alexandria was (and is) a major port city dating back to 332
BC. “As late as the 15th century, the city prospered as a transit point in the
trade conducted between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean basin.” (Reimer)
It
was through trade with Italy and Spain that blackwork embroidery eventually
made its way into European fashion, being altered slightly be each culture that
adopted it. Each culture added “its own elements of style, design and motifs to
suit the local taste” (Heath). Since each culture added its own flare to this
embroidery style, that is how some later English embroidery had circular floral
patterns on it while German and Spanish embroidery had more geometric designs.
It is all the same style of embroidery, though. All of these embroideries are
typically done on linen with silk thread to create a reversible pattern.
Besides
the style of the patterns, another thing that the various cultures modified as
this popular embroidery travelled through Europe was the color choice for the
silk embroidery thread. When looking at the pre-15th century
Egyptian embroidery, blue, red, and brown (this could be a faded black) were
common embroidery thread colors. The thought of Egypt drums up imagery of
deserts and sand. The linen fabric was undyed and therefore an off-white color,
which the blue, red, and brown colors would compliment nicely. However, as this
embroidery became popular in 16th century England, people wore
clothes to help display their wealth. The whiter their whites, the better and
more costly. Black silk thread was a popular choice for this embroidery style,
most likely because it was a stark contrast to the white and made their white
linen appear more bleached white.
Catherine
of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, had been born and raised in
Spain. At that time, Spain had been majorly influenced by Moorish geometrical
designs during the Moorish rule of Spain and Portugal. In 1501, Catherine of
Aragon had brought this technique with her to England from her native country,
Spain. Catherine of Aragon had grown up learning this geometric embroidery. She
continued her embroidery when she was sent to England to marry Henry VIII’s
older brother, Arthur. After Arthur’s death, Catherine then married Henry in
1509 and became Queen of England. The technique of blackwork embroidery then became
extremely popular in England, as it was worn by the King and Queen of England.
Before
Catherine of Aragon became Queen of England and helped to influence the
embroidery styles of England, English embroidery looked much different before
the Tudor era compared to after the Tudor era. Before Catherine of Aragon, the
popular type of embroidery was known as Opus Anglicanum (English work). Opus
Anglicanum was popular with the medieval Church and on page 10 is an example of
this form of embroidery. Other embroidery styles that had been popular in
England before Catherine of Aragon were stem stitch, split stitch, chain stitch,
and laid work. These embroidery styles, which are different than the double
running stitch as demonstrated on page 2, can all be found in the famous Bayeux
Tapestry, made in the late 11th century. On the next page are examples of these
different styles of embroidery.
The
blackwork embroidery that Catherine made popular was “embroidery in black silk
on white linen which became fashionable during the reign of Henry VIII…and
dying out some time between 1600 and 1630” (Geddes and McNeill 13). When
Catherine of Aragon brought this fashionable embroidery technique to England,
it was referred to as ‘Spanysshe work’. It was dubbed this name, though it had
shown origins with Moorish design elements. After King Henry VIII divorced
Catherine in 1533, the embroidery was re-named ‘blackwork’. By the time King
Henry VIII’s second daughter, Elizabeth I, came into reign, blackwork
embroidery was popular among both nobility and monarchs.
Shirts
were the most common to have blackwork as decoration, especially on the cuffs
and around the neck. “As blackwork embroidery patterns resemble lace (which was
difficult to obtain in Tudor days, because of a tax on lace) collars and cuffs
of blackwork embroidery soon appeared on the courtiers’ clothing.” (Drysdale
10) There are many portraits from the Elizabethan time era of nobility wearing
blackwork on the sleeves and cuffs of their shirts and chemises. By 1530, a
man’s shirt had a high neck, which had resulted in the origin of the ruff. Blackwork was used to decorate this ruff.
(Cunnington 17) In the National Portrait Gallery, there is a portrait of Henry
VIII wearing a shirt embroidered with acorns in gold and leaves in black.
“Apart from ruffs, blackwork was highly fashionable on falling-bands,
hand-ruffs, handkerchiefs, night-caps, and night-shirts.” (Geddes and McNeill
34)
Blackwork
embroidery had become popular in other countries besides England during this
same time frame, such as France. “Louis XI and Charles VIII of France were both
very interested in embroidery and summoned Italian embroiderers to court, so
early French work was much influenced by Italy.” (Snook 13) Blackwork had
already made its appearance in French and German portraits at the beginning of
the sixteenth century, proving that it was already a general European
fashion. Examples of blackwork
embroidery in Scotland have not survived, except for in portraits, such as that
of Agnes Keith and her husband, the Regent Moray, painted by Hans Eworth, 1561.
(Swain 11) Found among the garments left by Mary Queen of Scots were four
English chemises with blackwork designs. Other countries also had blackwork,
including Hungary, Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Romania. (Nickels)
In
other historical findings, the blackwork design “…occurs on a fragment from a
burial ground in Egypt of the late medieval period, and is depicted by Holbein
the elder in his paintings…” (Swain 121) The late medieval period was the
period of time between 1250 and 1500 AD. Spain and Italy set the way by using
Islamic design, as well as absorbing design ideas from Egypt. “Types of
counted-thread embroidery in black on white are found in many countries,
especially the Slavonic countries of Eastern Europe: Russia, Roumania,
Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, where it has been a peasant industry
for centuries.” (Geddes and McNeill 14) Each
country took blackwork embroidery and put their own individual twist on it. For
example, under Queen Elizabeth I of England, “English design was beginning to
emerge as an individual style with delicate flowers, scrolling vines, and
strong outlines filled with repetitive patterns.” (Nickels citing Lady M.
Alford in Needlework as Art, 1886)
European
blackwork in the 16th and 17th centuries could have been
found on almost any type of fabric: silk, linen, satin, velvet, and netting.
Wool may have been used for threading, but black silk was definitely the most
favored. Once in a while, gold and silver threads may have been used to
demonstrate visual drama. Other colors of thread were used too, but black silk
on a white background was the most popular. In addition, pearls and beads may
have been used sporadically. “It has
also been suggested that the lavish use of black thread embroidery was
occasioned by the influence of the newly-established printing presses. Many of
the embroidery designs were close copies of those which were inspired by
engravings and woodcuts.” (Jones 32)
There
are many different designs used with the blackwork technique. During Elizabeth I’s reign, many floral
designs had been used. William
Shakespeare even described some of these decorations in his works. In Pericles, Act V, Sc. I, I.5 Shakespeare
wrote:
“…with her neeld composes
Nature’s own shape of bud, bird, branch, or berry,
That even her art sisters the natural roses;
Her inkle, silk, twin wit the rubied cherry:
That pupils lacks she none of noble race
Who pour their bounty on her…”
(Kendrick 93)
After
this beautiful reversible embroidery was introduced to European countries, it
was widely used during the 16th century before slowly going out of
fashion in the 17th century. Blackwork was used by Europeans to
style their coifs, shirts, sleeves, and more. While this embroidery is
time-consuming to do, it was cheaper than lace during the Tudor era. Lace had a
tax on it during the Tudor era. It was one of many ways for Europeans to
display their wealth, as well as being fashionable. It is quite evident that
Pre-15th century Egyptian Muslims influenced 16th and 17th
century European fashion through blackwork embroidery.
Pre-15th
century Egyptian Muslims influenced 16th and 17th century
western European fashion through blackwork embroidery. By counting the threads
of the linen fabric, the double-running stitch is a series of two ‘journeys’
made with silk thread. On the first journey, the pattern is made with every
other stitch. Then, on the return journey, the goal is to fill in the blank
spots to create one continuous line. This makes the finished pattern appear
reversible. It is amazing to find the predecessor to European blackwork in the
Egyptian embroideries from the previous centuries!
Pre-15th
century Egyptian Muslims influenced 16th and 17th century
western European fashion through blackwork embroidery. Some of the patterns
used on 14th century “Mamluk textiles eventually spread to Europe
and can be seen in 16th-century German and Italian pattern books” (“Sampler
Fragment”). The numerous examples on the previous pages prove that pre-15th
century Egyptians influenced 16th and 17th century
western European fashion. The use of silk embroidery on linen fabric is the
same. The patterns have similarities. The technique of using a double-running
stitch was identical. “In the embroideries of the Mamluk period (1252-1517) the
designs are usually angular…This is a running stitch in steps, sometimes called
the Holbein stitch.” (Dimand) Pre-15th century Egyptians influenced
16th and 17th century western European fashion through
blackwork embroidery.
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