CHAPTER IX.

 The old English “opus consutum” or cut-work, called in French “appliqué,” is a term of rather wide meaning, as it takes in several sorts of decorative¹ accompaniments to needlework.

When anything—flower, fruit, or figure—is wrought² by itself upon a separate piece of silk or canvas and afterwards sewed on to the vestment for church use, or article for domestic purpose, it comes to be known as cut-work. This kind of work was employed for dresses and vestments; but we find it most commonly on bed-curtains, hangings for rooms and halls, and other items in household furniture.

Of cut-work in embroidery³ those pieces of splendid Rhenish needlework with the blazonment of Cleves, sewed upon a ground of crimson⁴ silk, nos. 1194–5, at South Kensington, and the chasuble of crimson double-pile velvet⁵, no. 78, are good examples. In the last, the niches⁶ in which the saints stand are loom⁷-wrought, but those personages themselves are exquisitely⁸ worked on separate pieces of fine canvas and afterwards let into the unwoven spaces left open for them. A Florentine piece of cut-work, no. 5788, is alike remarkable⁹ for its great beauty and the skill shown in bringing together both weaving and embroidery. Much of the architectural accessories is loom-wrought, while the extremities¹⁰ of the evangelists are all done by the needle; but the head, neck, and long beard are worked by themselves upon very fine linen¹¹, and afterwards put together in such a way that the full white beard overlaps¹² the tunic¹³.

89 Other methods gave a quicker help in this cut-work. For the sake of expedition all the figures were sometimes at once shaped out of woven silk, satin, velvet, linen, or woollen cloth as wanted, and sewed upon the grounding of the article: the features of the face and the contours of the body were then wrought by the needle in very narrow lines done in brown silk thread. At times, even this much of embroidery was set aside for the painting brush, and instances are to be found in which the spaces left uncovered by the loom for the heads and extremities of the human figures are filled in with the brush. Sometimes, again, the cut-work done in these ways is framed, as it were, with an edging, either in plain or gilt¹⁴ leather, hempen¹⁵, or silken cord, like the leadings of a stained glass window. Perhaps in no collection open anywhere to public view can a piece of cut-work be found so full of teaching about the process of this easy way of execution as no. 1370 at South Kensington: and we earnestly recommend the attention of our readers to that example.

For the invention of cut-work, or “di commesso” as Vasari calls it, that writer tells us we are indebted to one of his Florentine countrymen: “It was by Sandro Botticelli that the method of preparing banners and standards in what is called cut-work was invented; and this he did that the colours might not sink through, showing the tint¹⁶ of the cloth on each side. The baldachino of Orsanmichele is by this master, and is so treated, etc.” But Vasari is not correct: the piece just spoken of, no. 1370, was made half a century before Botticelli was born.

There are other accessories in medi?val embroidery which ought not to be overlooked.

In some few instances, gold and silver gilt star-like flowers are to be found sewed upon the silks or amid the embroidery from Venice and other provinces in Italy, and from southern Germany. Some fragments of silk damask, no. 8612, are curious examples of Italian taste. These at one time have been thickly strewed¹⁷ with90 trefoils cut out of gilt metal but very thin, and not sewed but glued on to the silk: many of the leaves have fallen off, and those remaining turned black. Precious stones also, coral, and seed pearls were sewed upon textiles; and, not uncommonly¹⁸, small coloured beads¹⁹ and bugles²⁰ of glass. Belonging to St. Paul’s, in 1295, among many other amices there was one having glass stones upon it, both large and small.

Another form of glass fastened by heat to gold and copper²¹, enamel²², was extensively employed as an adornment²³ upon textiles. The gorgeous “chesable of red cloth of gold with orphreys before and behind set with pearls, blue, white, and red, with plates of gold enamelled, wanting fifteen plates, etc.,” described in Dugdale’s Monasticon, and given by John of Gaunt’s duchess to Lincoln cathedral, shows how this rich ornamentation was applied²⁴ to garments, especially for church use, in very large quantities.

In England the old custom was to sew a great deal of goldsmith’s work, for enrichment, upon articles meant for personal wear. When our first Edward’s grave in Westminster abbey was opened in 1774 there was seen upon the body, besides other silken robes, a stole-like band of rich white tissue about the neck and crossed upon the breast: it was studded with gilt quatrefoils in filigree²⁵ work and embroidered²⁶ with pearls. From the knees downwards²⁷ the body was wrapped in a pall²⁸ of cloth of gold. Henry the third gave a frontal to the high altar in Westminster abbey upon which, besides carbuncles in golden settings and several large pieces of enamel, were as many as 866 smaller ones: perhaps the “esmaux de plique” of the French.

In the Norman-French silken stuffs thus ornamented²⁹ were said to be “batuz,” that is, beaten with hammered-up gold. The Treasury³⁰ calendars, edited by Palgrave, tell us that Richard the second gave to the chapel³¹ in the castle of Haverford “ii rydell batuz;” two altar-curtains beaten (probably with ornaments³² in gilt silver; like an amice so described which belonged to St. Paul’s).91 For the secular³³ employment of this same sort of decoration we have several curious examples. Ladies’ dresses were so adorned³⁴, as we may see in these verses:

A coronell on hur hedd sett,

Hur clothys wyth bestes and byrdes wer bete,

All abowte for pryde.

 

Ancient banner of the city of Strasburg: see next page.

King John in 1215 sent an order (extant in the Close rolls) to Reginald de Cornhull and William Cook to have made for him,92 besides five tunics³⁵, five banners with his arms upon them, well beaten in gold: “bene auro batuatas.” A very remarkable example attributed to the fourteenth century “the banner of Strasbourg” was preserved there until very lately, when it was unhappily destroyed in the bombardment of that city in 1870.

Dugdale (in his Baronage) gives the original bill for fitting out one of the ships in which Beauchamp earl of Warwick, during the reign³⁶ of Henry the sixth, went over to France. Among other items are these: “Four hundred pencils (long narrow strips of silk, used as flags) beat with the raggedstaff in silver; the other pavys (one of two shields probably of wood, and fastened outside the ship at its bows) painted with black, and a raggedstaff beat with silver occupying all the field; one coat for my lord’s body, beat with fine gold; two coats for heralds³⁷, beat with demi gold; a great streamer for a ship of forty yeards in length and eight yeards in breadth, with a great bear and griffin holding a raggedstaff poudred full of raggedstaffs; three penons (small flags) of satten; sixteen standards of worsted entailed³⁸ with the bear and a chain.” The quatrefoils on the robe of Edward the first, the silver lions on the Glastonbury cope, the beasts and birds on the lady’s gown, the bear and griffin and raggedstaff belonging to the Beauchamp’s blazoning³⁹, and all similar enrichments put upon silken stuffs, were cut out of very thin plates of gold or silver, so as to hang upon them lightly, and were hammered up to show in low relief the fashion of the flower and the lineaments of the beast or bird meant to be represented. Such a style of ornamentation in gold or silver, stitched on silken stuffs, was far more common once than is now thought. It had also a technical description: in speaking of it people would either write or say, “silk beaten with gold or silver;” as, for example, Barbara Mason used the term when in 1538 she bequeathed to a church “a vestment of grene sylke betyn with goold.”

Spangles, when they happened to be used, were not like those93 now employed but fashioned after another and artistic⁴⁰ shape, and put on in a different manner. A fragment still exists from the chasuble belonging to the set of vestments wrought, it is said, by Isabella of Spain and her maids of honour; and used the first time high mass was sung in Granada, after it had been taken by the Spaniards from the Moors⁴¹. Upon this are flowers, well thrown up in relief, done in spangles on a crimson velvet ground. The spangles—some in gold, some in silver—are, though small, of several sizes; all are voided; that is, hollow in the middle; with the circumference⁴² not flat but convex, and are sewed on like tiles, one overlapping⁴³ the other, producing a rich and pleasing effect. Our present spangles, in the flat shape, are quite modern.

Another kind of embroidery for garments was in gold, worked sometimes by itself, sometimes with coloured silk thread laid down alternately beside it; so as to lend a tinge⁴⁴ of green, crimson, pink, or blue to the imagined tissue of the robe, as if it were made of a golden stuff shot with another tint.

This gold “passing” was sewn on. The workwomen taking thin silk, while fastening the passing, dotted it all over in small stitches set exactly in a way that showed the same pattern. With no other appliance they were thus enabled to lend to their draperies the appearance of having been not wrought by the needle but actually cut out of a piece of textile; for which they have been sometimes mistaken.

Anciently, also, in England another mode of embroidering⁴⁵ articles, either for church use or for household furniture, was by darning or working the subject upon linen netting. This was called net-work, filatorium, as we learn from the Exeter inventory⁴⁶, where we read that its cathedral possessed⁴⁷ in 1327 three pieces of it for use at the altar: one in particular for throwing over the desk. These thread embroideries⁴⁸ were chiefly wrought during the fourteenth century; but as early as 1295 St. Paul’s had a cushion of the kind.

94

 

Embroidered hangings of a bed; from a MS. of the fifteenth century, in the British museum.

Crochet⁴⁹, knitting done with linen thread, and the thick kinds of lace wrought (chiefly in Flanders) upon the cushion with bobbins, were much employed under the name of nun’s lace from the sixteenth century and upwards⁵⁰, for bordering altar-cloths, albs, and every sort of towel required for church purposes.

1 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

2 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

3 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

4 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

5 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

6 niches   

壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）

参考例句：

• Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
• In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。

7 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

8 exquisitely   

adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地

参考例句：

• He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服，还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

10 extremities   

n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地

参考例句：

• She was most noticeable, I thought, in respect of her extremities. 我觉得她那副穷极可怜的样子实在太惹人注目。 来自辞典例句
• Winters may be quite cool at the northwestern extremities. 西北边区的冬天也可能会相当凉。 来自辞典例句

11 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

12 overlaps   

v.部分重叠( overlap的第三人称单数 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠

参考例句：

• The style in these two books largely overlaps. 这两本书的文体有许多处是一致的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The new office overlaps the functions of the one already in existence. 新机构的职能与那个现存机构的职能部分重叠。 来自辞典例句

13 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

14 gilt   

adj.镀金的；n.金边证券

参考例句：

• The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
• The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。

15 hempen   

adj. 大麻制的, 大麻的

参考例句：

• The net destined to support the car was made of very solid hempen cord. 承受着吊篮的网子是用非常结实的麻绳编的。
• Plant the crop such as wheaten, corn, potato, horsebean, hempen, cole aptly, a year one ripe. 适宜种植小麦、玉米、马铃薯、蚕豆、大麻、油菜等作物，一年一熟。

16 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。

17 strewed   

v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满

参考例句：

• Papers strewed the floor. 文件扔了一地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Autumn leaves strewed the lawn. 草地上撒满了秋叶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 uncommonly   

adv. 稀罕(极，非常)

参考例句：

• an uncommonly gifted child 一个天赋异禀的儿童
• My little Mary was feeling uncommonly empty. 我肚子当时正饿得厉害。

19 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

20 bugles   

妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠

参考例句：

• Blow, bugles, blow, set the wild echoes flying. "响起来，号角，响起来，让激昂的回声在空中震荡"。
• We hear the silver voices of heroic bugles. 我们听到了那清亮的号角。

21 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

22 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

23 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

24 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

25 filigree   

n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的

参考例句：

• The frost made beautiful filigree on the window pane.寒霜在玻璃窗上形成了美丽的花纹。
• The art filigree tapestry is elegant and magnificent.嵌金银丝艺术挂毯，绚丽雅典。

26 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

27 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

28 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

29 ornamented   

adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

31 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

32 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

34 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

35 tunics   

n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍

参考例句：

• After work colourful clothes replace the blue tunics. 下班后，蓝制服都换成了色彩鲜艳的衣服。 来自辞典例句
• The ancient Greeks fastened their tunics with Buttons and loops. 古希腊人在肩部用钮扣与环圈将束腰外衣扣紧。 来自互联网

36 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

37 heralds   

n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The song of birds heralds the approach of spring. 百鸟齐鸣报春到。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountain. 山雨欲来风满楼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

38 entailed   

使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son. 城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
• The house and estate are entailed on the eldest daughter. 这所房子和地产限定由长女继承。

39 blazoning   

v.广布( blazon的现在分词 )；宣布；夸示；装饰

参考例句：

40 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

41 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

43 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

44 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

45 embroidering   

v.（在织物上）绣花( embroider的现在分词 )；刺绣；对…加以渲染（或修饰）；给…添枝加叶

参考例句：

• He always had a way of embroidering. 他总爱添油加醋。 来自辞典例句
• Zhao Junxin learned the craft of embroidering from his grandmother. 赵俊信从奶奶那里学到了刺绣的手艺。 来自互联网

46 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

47 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

48 embroideries   

刺绣( embroidery的名词复数 )； 刺绣品； 刺绣法

参考例句：

• Some of the embroideries are in bold, bright colours; others are quietly elegant. 刺绣品有的鲜艳，有的淡雅。
• These embroideries permitted Annabel and Midge to play their game in the luxury of peaceful consciences. 这样加以润饰，就使安娜博尔和米吉在做这个游戏时心安理得，毫无内疚。

49 crochet   

n.钩针织物；v.用钩针编制

参考例句：

• That's a black crochet waistcoat.那是一件用钩针编织的黑色马甲。
• She offered to teach me to crochet rugs.她提出要教我钩织小地毯。

50 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。