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Goldwork is the art of
embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
using metal threads. It is particularly prized for the way light plays on it. The term "goldwork" is used even when the threads are imitation gold, silver, or copper. The metal wires used to make the threads have never been entirely
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
; they have always been gold-coated silver or cheaper metals, and even then the "gold" often contains a very low percent of real gold. Most metal threads are available in silver and sometimes copper as well as gold; some are available in colors as well. Goldwork is always
surface embroidery Surface embroidery is any form of embroidery in which the pattern is worked by the use of decorative stitches and laid threads ''on top of'' the foundation fabric or canvas rather than ''through'' the fabric; it is contrasted with canvas work.Reade ...
and
free embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
; the vast majority is a form of laid work or couching; that is, the gold threads are held onto the surface of the fabric by a second thread, usually of fine silk. The ends of the thread, depending on type, are simply cut off, or are pulled through to the back of the embroidery and carefully secured with the couching thread. A tool called a mellore or a stilleto is used to help position the threads and create the holes needed to pull them through. The threads most often have metal or
gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...
wound around a textile thread, or threads treated with an adhesive and rolled in powdered gold or other metal. Goldwork was originally developed in Asia, and has been used for at least 2000 years. Its use reached a remarkable level of skill in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, when a style called Opus Anglicanum was developed in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and used extensively in church vestments and hangings. After this period it was also used frequently in the clothing and furnishings of the royalty and nobility throughout Europe, and still later on military and other regalia. The same silver and gold thread were also used heavily in the most expensive
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
, especially during the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. Goldwork is currently a fairly uncommon skill, even among embroiderers who work in other free embroidery styles; it is now most commonly used for the highest-quality church vestments and art embroidery. It has always been reserved for occasional and special use only, due both to the expense of the materials and time to create the embroidery, and because the threads - no matter how expertly applied - will not hold up to frequent laundering of any kind. Embroidered goldwork is not to be confused with the even more luxurious
cloth of gold Cloth of gold or gold cloth (Latin: ''Tela aurea'') is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft—referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn is silk, wrapped (''filé'') with a band or strip of high conten ...
, where similar gold threads are woven through the whole piece of textile.


History

Goldwork was originally developed in Asia, and has been used for at least 2000 years. In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, it possibly dates back to the
Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
(c. 1570 BC – c. 1045 BC) according to archaeological studies. but was certainly in use by the
Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(25 to 220 AD). It had reached
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
soon after 189 BC, initially made in
Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...
(modern
Bergama Bergama is a populous district, as well as the center city of the same district, in İzmir Province in western Turkey. By excluding İzmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of population and is l ...
in Western Turkey). King
Attalus I Attalus I ( grc, Ἄτταλος Α΄), surnamed ''Soter'' ( el, , "Savior"; 269–197 BC) ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis (what is now Bergama, Turkey), first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the first ...
probably established large state workshops there, and the gold-embroidered cloth was known as "Attalic" cloth.
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
credited Attalus I with inventing the technique, but this is most unlikely. The ''
toga picta The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...
'', worn by generals in their
Roman triumph The Roman triumph (') was a civil religion, civil ceremony and Religion in ancient Rome, religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the servi ...
s, and later
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
s and emperors, was dyed solid purple, decorated with imagery in gold thread, and worn over a similarly-decorated ''tunica palmata''. After the fall of the
Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, it was generally reserved for garments of the nobility and church hangings and
vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...
s, and as a luxury technique survived from ancient times in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It featured significantly in
Byzantine dress Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. Popularly, Byzantine dress remained attached to its classical Greek roots with most changes and different styles being evidenced in the ...
and church textiles, and was sometimes worn by musicians and servants in uniform. When illiteracy was common and thus written materials had less impact, "images and the visual realm admore power over the senses and the mind....The pomp and circumstance created by the awe-inspiring use of metal threads in church work was observed keenly by kings and emulated where possible.


China

In China, gold embroidery is a traditional Chinese craft with a long history which was originally used in the imperial palaces and temples. Chinese goldwork, including application of
gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...
, gold
powder A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...
, gold thread (as embroidery or as woven textile with the exception of Nasīj) in clothing and textile, as well as the silver-work version, originated in ancient
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and was used at least since the
Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(25 to 220 AD) or prior, with possible usage in the
Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
(c. 1570 BC – c. 1045 BC). Since the
Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
(c.1046 to 256 BC),
Chinese embroidery Chinese embroidery refers to embroidery created by any of the cultures located in the area that makes up modern China. It is some of the oldest extant needlework. The four major regional styles of Chinese embroidery are Suzhou embroidery (Su Xiu ...
had been used as a social class marker. In China, embroidery in gold was found on imperial and
ceremonial dress Ceremonial dress is clothing worn for very special occasions, such as coronations, graduations, parades, religious rites, trials and other important events. In the western dress code hierarchy of dress codes, ceremonial dress is often considered ...
, and religious dress, and other textile objects. Chinese goldwork often used red silk threads for couching, adding a warmer tone to the embroidery. One of the two important branches of Chinese gold embroidery is the Chao embroidery which was developed in
Chaozhou Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the Sou ...
,
Guangdong province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
since the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618 to 907 AD) and the gold- and silver-coloured embroidery of
Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
, which mostly uses gold and silver metallic threads. Chinese goldwork embroidery was also introduced in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, where it underwent significant development and innovation, and in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
through the
silk road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
.


Europe

The record of gold embroidery extends far back in English history. Thomas of Ely noted the Abbess of Ely, St. Etheldrada, who died in 679, was adept at embroidering goldwork and made St. Cuthbert a stole and maniple richly embroidered in gold and adorned with gems. Embroidery was thought to be a fitting activity for noblewomen, both those within and outside of convents.Its use reached a remarkable level of skill in the Middle Ages, particularly between 1250 and 1350, when a style called Opus Anglicanum (it translates to "English Work") reached its peak in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was used extensively in church vestments and hangings.Levey, S. M. and D. King, ''The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750'', Victoria and Albert Museum, 1993, It was quite costly because of the metal threads, gems, and pearls that were used. It is conjectured that some of the artwork used in this embroidery originated in illuminated manuscripts, and may have been designed by the same artists. The decline in the quality of this style of embroidery is thought to be because of the losses during the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
. Gold thread technology were also adopted by Italian weavers. Italian centers of silk production (
Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...
,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
,
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
) producing cloth of gold started appearing after the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. Even after gold thread was produced for millennia in Europe, gold thread was still associated with its origins in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The producing of gold cloth became common in Europe, such as France and Italy by the 16th century. After this period it was also used frequently in the clothing and furnishings of the royalty and nobility throughout Europe, and still later on military and other regalia. The Imperial and Ecclesiastical Treasury in Vienna displays vestments decorated with accomplished Or nué in the form of saints. Or nué is a special technique invented in the 15th century, wherein many threads of passing or Japan thread are laid down parallel and touching. By varying the spacing and color of the couching stitches, elaborate, gleaming images can be created. This is commonly used to depict the garments of saints in church embroidery.


India

The use of goldwork in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
predates the arrival of the Greeks in 365-323 BC. Indian metal thread embroidery uses precious and semiprecious stones and wire in distinctive ways. It is certain that the use of gold and silver embroideries, known as
zari ''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...
, was used in India in the 15th century. Gold thread which was made out of beaten metal strips wrapped around a silk core was introduced in India from
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.


Contemporary goldwork

Goldwork is currently a fairly uncommon skill, even among embroiderers who work in other free embroidery styles; it is now most commonly used for the highest-quality church vestments and art embroidery. It has always been reserved for occasional and special use only, due to both the expense of the materials and the time to create the embroidery, and because the threads will usually not hold up to frequent laundering of any kind. Goldwork styles and techniques have evolved thanks to the availability of plastic sequin waste, metallic leather and other new materials. Goldwork embroiderer and textiles artist Kathleen Laurel Sage regularly uses sequin waste in her designs to create a style that is not found in traditional goldwork.


Types of metal thread

A variety of threads exists, in order to create differing textures. *Passing is the most basic and common thread used in goldwork; it consists of a thin strip of metal wound around a core of
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
or
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
. For gold thread this is typically yellow, or in older examples orange; for silver, white or gray. This is always attached by couching, either one or two threads at a time, and pulled through to the back to secure it. When multiple threads must be laid next to each other, a technique called ''bricking'' is used: the position of the couching stitches is offset between rows, producing an appearance similar to a brick wall. This same type of thread is used in making
cloth of gold Cloth of gold or gold cloth (Latin: ''Tela aurea'') is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft—referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn is silk, wrapped (''filé'') with a band or strip of high conten ...
. *Japan thread, sometimes called jap, is a cheaper replacement for passing, and is far more commonly used in modern goldwork. It appears nearly identical, but rather than a strip of metal, a strip of foil paper is wrapped around the core. *Bullion or Purl is structurally a very long spring, hollow at the core; it can be stretched apart slightly and couched between the wraps of wire, or cut into short lengths and applied like beads. This thread comes in both shiny and matte versions. *Jaceron or Pearl purl is similar to bullion, but with a much wider piece of metal which has been shaped (rounded) prior to purling it, such that it looks like a string of pearl-like beads when couched down between the wraps of metal. Lizerine is a similar thread that has a flat appearance having not been shaped prior to purling. *Frieze or Check purl is again similar, but the metal used is shaped differently, producing a faceted, sparkly look. *Faconnee or Crimped purl is almost identical to bullion, but has been crimped at intervals. *Roccoco and the similar Crinkle cordonnet are made of wire tightly wrapped around a
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
core, with a wavy or kinked appearance. *Milliary wire is a stretched pearl purl laced to a base of passing thread. *Broad Plate is a strip of metal a 2 millimeters wide; often this is used to fill small shapes by folding it back and forth, hiding the couching stitches under the folds. This is also available as 11's plate which is 1mm wide and whipped plate where the broad plate has a fine wire wrapped around it. *Flat Worm or simply Oval thread is a thin plate wrapped around a yarn core and flattened slightly. This is used like plate, but is considerably easier to work with. *Twists or Torsade, threads made of multiple strands of metal twisted together are also sometimes used, some of which, such as Soutache, sometimes have different colored metals or colored non-metal threads twisted together. These are either couched like passing, with the couching thread visible, or with the thread angled with the twist to make it invisible. In addition, paillettes or spangles (sequins of real metal), small pieces of appliqued rich
fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
or kid leather,
pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
, and real or imitation gems are commonly used as accents, and
felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
or string padding may be used to create raised areas or texture.
Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
thread work in
satin stitch In sewing and embroidery, a satin stitch or damask stitch is a series of flat stitches that are used to completely cover a section of the background fabric. Narrow rows of satin stitch can be executed on a standard sewing machine using a zigzag ...
or other stitches is often combined with goldwork, and in some periods goldwork was combined with
blackwork embroidery Blackwork, sometimes historically termed Spanish blackwork, is a form of embroidery generally worked in black thread, although other colours are also used on occasion, as in scarletwork, where the embroidery is worked in red thread. Originating ...
as well.


See also

*
Couching In embroidery, couching and laid work are techniques in which yarn or other materials are laid across the surface of the ground fabric and fastened in place with small stitches of the same or a different yarn. The couching threads may be eithe ...


Notes


References

*Sally Saunders, ''Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Techniques'', Batsford, 2006 (paperback edition; hardcover editions were published previously but are now out of print)
Hand Embroidery Goldwork by Q Goods Co
- supplier of goldwork threads embroidered wire embroidered patches
Krenik
- a major supplier of goldwork threads; see the real metal threads category, and Japan thread under the metallic threads category
Well Done Badges Co
- a major supplier of goldwork threads embroidered and wire embroidered patches
Berlin Embroidery
- a supplier of goldwork threads, kits, and lessons, with extensive informational pages and many images *Lemon, Jane, ''Metal Thread Embroidery'', Sterling, 2004, *Levey, S. M. and D. King, ''The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750'', Victoria and Albert Museum, 1993, *Practical articles on basic goldwork techniques and couching with colour are available from textile artis
Ruth O'LearyCole, Alison
''All That Glitters'', 2006, , ''The Midas Touch'' 2008, *Zoog, Cornerlia
''A golden era for "fashionistas'', 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwork (Embroidery) Embroidery Needlework