On May 5, 2007, at 4:11 PM, Robin Netherton wrote:
1. Is my memory correct -- is this indeed a characteristic of
blackwork?
Or any other kind of historic embroidery style?
Hi, Robin! <g>
Some, but NOT all, historical blackwork is reversible (same on both
sides). The idea that ALL blackwork is supposed to be completely
reversible is an artifact of the 20th century embroidery revival.
2. Is this characteristic actually documentable to any non-modern
examples? (I know it's easy to assume that a standard definition of a
technique must date back forever, but it might be done differently in
different periods.) If so, how early? I mentally associate
blackwork in
particular with the Tudor period, but the reference in this case is
about
1400.
I know there is also a tradition of Japanese silk embroidery that is
identical on both sides, but I don't know how old that is. And
probably not relevant :)
3. Can anyone point me to a published source that would document
the use
of such a "two right sides" technique to a medieval artifact?
IIRC, most of the evidence that it existed is from paintings, which
as we all know, may or may not represent reality accurately.
I'll e-mail you off list with more info....
____________________________________________________________
O Chris Laning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> - Davis, California
+ http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com
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