Kat'ryna's+Russian+Embroidery+Page

Russian Embroidery
"The mistress [of the house] should know all about needlework so that she can teach her women what they need to know...if her husband invites guests or his friends, they should always find her sitting over her needlework. Thus she will earn honor and glory, and her husband praise." (Domostroi) Embroidery was, and still is, one of Russia's highest art forms. In times when simple survival was difficult, having the time to embroider showed one's wealth; over the long dark winters, embroidery gave women something to do, something to pass the time. The humblest linen underclothing was embroidered, as well as the richest of ecclesiastical garments and other items.

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Stitches & Techniques
Early (10th-13th centuries) Late (14th-16th centuries)
 * Clothing**
 * split stitch, satin stitch - [|Figure 2]
 * sewn-on pieces of metal - [|Figure 2]
 * couching of single gold thread, multiple gold threads, and cording - laidwork and basket-weave couching
 * split stitch, satin stitch, tent stitch, couched silk, raised satin stitch
 * felt-layered stump work
 * couched gold and silver wire
 * rows and rows of single strands couched down next to each other
 * bundled strands couched down together - sometimes twisted
 * laidwork in many complex patterns
 * skanny - sew down cording, wrap wire around it
 * prikrep - couching wire in chevron or herringbone patterns
 * basket-weaving - couch down gold thread, then 'weave' gold thread through in the other direction
 * couched pearls
 * couch down a string, stitches between each pearl - frequently outlined in metal thread - [|Figure 9]
 * sew pearls down separately, and wind string around base of pearl to stabilize it
 * just cover entire areas with pearls
 * Ecclesiastical Objects (14th-16th centuries)**
 * words sometimes in split stitch, sometimes in pearls outlined with couched metal thread, sometimes in couched metal thread alone - [|Figure 11]
 * entire backgrounds sometimes covered in couched gold thread - _very_ rich look
 * people and backgrounds usually in silk
 * 'particularly holy things' outlined in or entirely covered by couched metal thread or pearls - wings, halos, chalice and paten, books of Gospels, King David's tunic, cherubim and seraphim, the 'diskos with asteriskos' that the Baby Jesus lays on, symbols of Evangelists, the Cross - [|Figure 11]
 * faces and hands in satin stitches worked horizontally and vertically, and modelling stitches - always worked in flesh colored silk, sometimes with darker shadings in grey or brown
 * one piece has appliqued pieces of damask and taffeta in various colors, in a four-petalled flower pattern

Patterns
I'm lumping 'ornamental' embroidery (stuff that doesn't make a picture) into one category whether it's on secular clothing, ecclesiastical clothing, or other ecclesiastical objects because it all tends to use much the same sorts of patterns. The depictions of scenes on the ecclesiastical embroideries make up the other category.
 * Ornamental**
 * curvilinear shapes, with vines and leaves and flowers - Tree of Life - [|Figure 3], [|Figure 4], [|Figure 5], [|Figure 9]
 * geometric - crosses or crosses in circles common on ecclesiastical copes - [|Figure 6], [|Figure 7], [|Figure 10]
 * zoomorphic - peacocks, double-headed eagles, deer - [|Figure 8]
 * interlace - [|Figure 14], [|Figure 5], [|Figure 7], [|Figure 18]
 * other media using similar styles - illuminated manuscripts, enameled jewelry, carvings in wood, bone and stone, frescoes, mosaics
 * Pictoral Ecclesiastical Embroideries**
 * great influence from Byzantine icons and other art
 * elongated figures & faces
 * 'formal' expressions on saints and holy men, tender look on Mary looking at Jesus
 * robes usually plain though a few examples have crosses embroidered onto them - [|Figure 10]
 * sometimes 'busts' of saints around border of main picture - [|Figure 10]
 * saints frequently shown giving blessing, holding scrolls, bowing to Virgin or Jesus
 * sometimes words in border - liturgical and donation inscriptions, once a description of maker (scroll possibility!) - [|Figure 11]
 * architectural backgrounds
 * cherubim and seraphim - [|Figure 11]
 * mandorla - aureole - almond-shaped outline or series of lines surrounding body of Christ
 * fringe at bottom of some pieces - silver wire, silver and gold, silk and satin tassels
 * gold lace at edges of one piece
 * common themes:
 * Annunciation
 * Anastasis (harrowing of Hell)
 * Eucharist
 * Agnus Dei (baby Jesus) - [|Figure 11]
 * Crucifixion
 * Selected Saints (usually specifically Russian ones)
 * Church Feasts
 * Virgin and Child Enthroned (and variations)
 * Appearance of the Virgin to St. Sergius - [|Figure 10]
 * the Cross (with the lance on one side, the reed with the sponge of vinegar on the other side, and the skull of Adam buried below)
 * Entombment
 * Various Russian saints - St. Sergius, St. Maxim the Confessor
 * Trinity of New Testament (God, with grown-up but small Jesus in his lap; Jesus holding Dove of Holy Spirit)
 * Christ Enthroned
 * Trinity - God in middle, Jesus and Holy Spirit to either side

What to Embroider On
Byzantine-Style Formal Clothing - [|Figure 12], [|Figure 13] Non-Byzantine Style Clothing - [|Figure 14], numbers as indicated; also [|Figure 15], [|Figure 17], [|Figure 18] Clothing Other Objects
 * Secular Clothing**
 * bands around cuffs and bottom hem, bands down front of garment - wide, rounded collar piece
 * embroidered belts and stoles
 * cuffs (#3), upper sleeve, standing collars (#6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17-22), hem of shirt, skirt or coat (#1, 11-13)
 * panels at neck of men's garment (#4, 5)
 * button-and-loop closings appliqued on coats (#10, 15, 16)
 * all over the garment with patterns similar to ecclesiastical clothing - [|Figure 15]
 * belts (#2), hats ([|Figure 15], [|Figure 17]), cloaks ([|Figure 17]), boots, shoes ([|Figure 16])
 * women's headgear, headbands and veils
 * Ecclesiastical**
 * phelonion, epigonation, epitrachelion, mitre, sticharion, clavus
 * aer, gonfalon, funerary pall, podea, purificator, shroud, sulok

Definitions
(Nota bene: many of these definitions came from a book translated from Russian to English by someone who clearly didn't know a lot of English, and so some words may not mean what you expect.)
 * Aer** - large rectangular piece of cloth covering the vessels with the Eucharist
 * Asteriskos** - star-shaped silver frame put over the diskos to support the aer over the Eucharist
 * Brocade** - a rich figured textile, often woven with gold or silver thread
 * Clavus** - colored band of fabric hanging from shoulder
 * Damask** - a reversible figured textile
 * Diskos** - paten with base
 * Epigonation** - rectangular piece of material hanging at right side from shoulders to knees
 * Epitrachelion** - stole
 * Gonfalon** - flag hanging from a cross-piece and ending in streamers
 * Modelling Stitch** - fine split or satin stitch varied in direction to give an illusion of shape - such as stitches in concentric circles to suggest the shape of a cheek
 * Niello** - black metallic substance with which an incised design in metal is filled
 * Phelonion** - chasuble or cope - bottom part usually woven with a pattern, top part at collar usually embroidered
 * Podea** - icon veil
 * Purificator** - square piece of cloth used to wipe out the chalice and paten
 * Shroud** - cloth usually decorated with the Entombment
 * Sticharion** - surplice - loose, wide, long-sleeved tunic
 * Sulok** - rectangular piece of fabric hanging from pastoral staff
 * Tabby** - watered fabric, esp. silk
 * Taffeta** - plain or patterned silk with a glossy surface

Bibiography
Asharina, Nina. Russian Decorative Art: 12th to Early 20th Century. Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, 1987. Drevniaia Rus': Byt i kul'tura. Moscow, 1997. (Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 16, 18) Duncan, David Douglas. Great Treasures of the Kremlin. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1967. Gostelow, Maria. Embroidery of All Russia. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977. Grey, Ian. History of Russia. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1970. (Figs. 15, 17) Manushina, T. Early Russian Embroidery in the Zagorsk Museum Collection. Moscow: Sovietskaga Rossia Publishers, 1983. (Basis for Fig. 3. Also Figs. 8, 9, 19, 20) Moscow, Henry. Russia Under the Czars. New York: American Heritage Publishing Company, Inc., 1962. (Fig. 13) Pouncy, Carolyn, ed. & tr. The Domostroi. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994. Treasures from the Kremlin. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1979. (Figs. 10, 11) Turnau, Irena. History of Dress in Central and Eastern Europe from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Warszawa: Letter Quality, 1991.

Acknowledgements
Much thanks to Jadwiga, for showering me with books (it's nice to have a tame librarian!) Mordak, for letting me stand on his shoulders, Istvan, for finding me this grand computer and putting up with me while I used it, and the cats for not knocking my papers onto the floor too often. Geffroi le crieur Kate Jones geffroi@gmail.com Last updated: 21 February 2006