Title: beadwork-msg
Subject: beadwork on clothing
Author: Edited by Mark Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, beads, clothing decorations, glass, precious stones, jewels

beadwork-msg - 9/6/09

Medieval beadwork on clothing. Bead types. Bead sources.

NOTE: See also the files: beads-msg, clothing-msg, sewing-msg, glasswork-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: hrjones at uclink.berkeley.edu (Heather Rose Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: lace and beads
Date: 28 Jul 1994 21:01:22 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley

DDuperault (dduperault at aol.com) wrote:
:      What about beadwork? I suspect beading is a victorian invention.
: Anybody got any hard evidence to the contrary?

I'm doing a small research project on the subject currently, expect to 
see the full results, perhaps in a Compleat Anachronist, any year now ....

Certain types of beadwork were used in period, both for household items 
and to decorate clothing. Some random examples:

"Beadwork" (Shire Publications #57) by Pamela Claburn shows on p.4 some 
12th century German beaded panels used to decorate church vestments. The 
designs have a familial similarity to those used at the same time for 
Opus Anglicanum embroidery; the beads are sewn to a parchment backing in 
rows that follow the lines of the design, similarly to how rows of 
split-stitch do in embroidery.

A much larger example of this same technique (also German) can be found 
in "The Art of Embroidery" by Marie Schuette and Sigrid 
Mueller-Christensen (London: Thames & Hudson, 1964) in plate VIII. Here 
again the beads are sewn onto a parchment backing in lines following the 
designs, the whole then being sewn onto fabric (in this case, an altar 
frontal). 

This and similar embroidery books will show numerous examples of seed 
pearls being used to outline embroidery designs on cloaks and other 
garments. A set of vestments from the Holy Roman Empire dating to the 
12th and early 13th centuries (figures 65-71 in the above book) show the 
following:

A dalmatic cuff with a stylized floral motif outlined in seed pearls and 
filled in with minute gold "bugle-beads", sewn down with a couching 
technique. (The beads are about the same size as those in "liquid-silver" 
necklaces.)

Cuffs on an alb with seed pearls picking out a strapwork pattern. (The 
design also incorporates gemstones in both bezel and pronged settings.)

A pair of gloves with seed pearls used both to outline applied gemstones 
and enamelled plaques and sewn randomly over the remaining area.

I've found refernces to 15th century French goldsmiths regulations that 
forbid combining glass beads and semi-precious stones with pearls and 
precious stones on the same garment -- a fairly good argument for the use 
of the former.

Medieval beadwork is fascinating, but it's very different from modern 
styles and techniques.

Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn

From: rich at birch.ims.disa.mil (Rich Bjorklund)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: lace and beads
Date: 29 Jul 1994 16:25:00 GMT
Organization: Computer Sciences Corp.

dduperault at aol.com (DDuperault) says:
>     I know lace is "late" period. Anyone know when and where (and on
>what) lace was first used in europe?
>     What about beadwork? I suspect beading is a victorian invention.
>Anybody got any hard evidence to the contrary?
>
>                                                     Avwye

The period export of fresh-water pearls from Scotland to France would
argue otherwise.  I also believe any of Janet Arnold's books on Elizabethan
clothing would show the use of beading in period.  

Elizabeth I _was_ pre-Victorian last time I checked.  ;-)

-Rich "Bjorn" Bjorklund
Stovik, Atlantia / Bowie, MD.

From: BROWNTR.ntrprs at navair.navy.MIL (BROWNTR)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Beading in Period
Date: 1 Aug 1994 09:54:30 -0400

dduperault at aol.com (DDuperault) says:
>     I know lace is "late" period. Anyone know when and where (and on
>what) lace was first used in europe?
>     What about beadwork? I suspect beading is a victorian invention.
>Anybody got any hard evidence to the contrary?
>
>                                                     Avwye

   If by beading, you mean pictorial embroidery using small
glass beads (as opposed to pearls and semi-precious stones), it
is most certainly period.  My apprentice Lady Elspeth will be
giving a class at Pennsic on "13th Century Beadwork from
Saxony," <barely subtle plug> and will show photos of extant
examples. Pearls (fresh and salt-water) and semi-precious stones
were also used both to form pictures and as embellishment.
   The case for beadwork *weaving* in the SCA period is on much
shakier ground, as is the use of iridescent beads to embroider
cute li'l dragons and pudgy unicorns.
   Bjorn didn't mention it (Hi BJ!) but his wife Lady Therasa is
downright scary with pearls and beads!  (How many *thousands* of
stones did she put on that black gown?!)

-- Auntie Signy
home: AuntieS at aol.com   ofc: BROWNTR.NTRPRS at NAVAIR.NAVY.MIL

From: habura at vccnw01.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: lace and beads
Date: 28 Jul 1994 16:06:17 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Avwye asks whether anyone has evidence for beading in Period.

You bet your buttons I do! Much depends, of course, on the time period 
you're targeting. I'll discuss my area of expertise, which is England and
France, 13th and 14th centuries.

Pearls: A biggie. You understand, a lot of 14th c. high-fashion clothing was
heavily embroidered, and the job definition of "embroiderer" was basically
"person who sews ornament onto fabric". Large pearls were incorporated
into designs, frequently as something like the acorns of embroidered 
oaks. (Blanche of Castile had an embroidered hat with pictures of children
beating down pearl acorns from trees, with gold boars eating the acorns.)
Smaller pearls were used for outlining large motifs, and also were sewn
down over loose-stitched white silk grounds to make things like griffins
and estoiles. If you plan to do this, use pearls with a maximum size of
about 2.5 mm; I did an estoile with pearls this size, and at 2" in height,
it's just barely authentic-looking. Many of the surviving examples show
pearls the size of seed-beads. (In fact, I'm resorting to glass pearlized
seed-beads for this application, because I can only find artificial 
"pearls" is sizes >2 mm.)

Other beads, gems, and findings: If you consider sewing metal ornaments
to fabric "beading", boy, are you in luck! Not only are they period, in 
an astounding variety of shapes (I can document mussel shells, acorns,
stars, circular plates with portraits on them, leaves, and so on), they're
also available in fine craft stores everywhere. They're pricey, though; 
the cheapest I've gotten them is 20 cents each--and they should be used 
to cover an entire garment. Glass discs were sometimes used for the eyes 
of beasts. Enameled ornaments were used as decoration too, sometimes set
off by gold embroidery. (Philippa of Hainault had a "ghita" of this type.)

OK, I'll stop here---this could become a five-page post if I let myself go. 
However, if you want to discuss this further, email me, or stop by
my class at Pennsic.

Alison MacDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*

From: 0003900943 at mcimail.COM (Marla Lecin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: [GARB] Beaded mottos on sleeves?
Date: 11 Dec 1994 10:36:17 -0500
Organization: The Internet

Greetings, from Jessa d' Avondale! 

Several years ago, some good lady posted a query for information on the
appearance of beaded mottoes on the cuffs of Italian Ren sleeves. 

No reply was ever posted on the Rialto, but I, too, would be interested in
this information.  The specific portrait which she referred to was " Lady at
a Window", by Fra Filippo Lippi (circa 1450). (This is my favorite Ren
portrait of all, and I particularly enjoy visiting with "her" in the Met in
NYC!) 

I do not have the original message handy, but is the poster still around, or
does anyone else have information on this particular practice? 

Many thanks, 

Jessa 
mlecin at mcicmail.com 

From: Sharon Saroff <sindara at moose.erie.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: info on jewelry,beadw
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 17:39:50 -0500
Organization: ErieNet

To all who wish a copy of my beadwork resource list:

The list is available for copy cost (about 60 cents) and a SASE (be 
sure to send an 8 1/2 by 11 manila envelope).  At present there are about 
200 references on the list and growing. (I have to update it again 
because I found some more resources)  Send to address below if you want 
the list.

If you wish resources for specific information, I will be more than happy 
to provide those specific titles.  Just e-mail me a message at 
Sindara at moose.erie.net.  I read my mail daily.

Send all postal snail correspondences to:
	Sharon R. Saroff
	239 Scott Street, 1st floor
	Erie, PA. 16508

In Service of the Dream,
Sindara

From: habura at vccnw04.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: needle punch embroidery
Date: 20 Jul 1995 13:48:54 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

For Elizabeth: I may be about to make you a happy person. If you don't
mind using tiny pearls instead of seed beads, there's a considerable
amount of documentation for designs made from beads on clothing.

Probably the most accessible piece is the "Chichester" or "Butler-Bowden"
cope, a 14th c. English work. There's a color photo of it in Staniland's
_Medieval Craftsmen: The Embroiderers_, but there's a better black-and-
white closeup in Christie's _English Medieval Embroidery_. (I can get 
exact page cites if you need them, but my notes are at home, and I'm not.)
The basic technique is to lay down the shape you want with white silk 
thread, and then cover the entire design with seed pearls. Some other
English pieces of the same era show evidence of having been worked in 
this way, in that the white embroidery is still there, as are the threads
left when the pearls were snipped off.

I have one piece of visual evidence for the use of this kind of embroidery
on secular clothing from the 14th c., and a few that are later. The 
painting _St. Ursula and her Virgins_ (don't recall the artist; I'll find
it for you if you want) shows one of the virgins wearing a purple cotehardie,
the torso of which is covered with phoenixes. Having examined a plate of 
the painting closely, I believe that the phoenixes are worked in pearls and
red (silk?) embroidery. One piece of 16th c. evidence is a portrait of
a German count, who is wearing a doublet embroidered with pearl crescent moons.

There's also some evidence from inventories. Mary Stella Newton (in her
_Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince_) quotes a number of Great Wardrobe
inventories that list pearl-embroidered items, usually hats or hoods but
sometimes mantles as well. For example the Dauphin of France had a hat worked
with pearl leopards holding lozenges with his arms. 

I apologize for the half-citations of my sources; unfortunately, I'm working
from memory here. Drop me a line if you'd like proper documentation.

Hope this helps...

Alison MacDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*

From: sindara at pobox.com (Sharon R. Saroff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 13:00:31 GMT

>-- [ From: Patricia M. Hefner * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] --
>
>OK, I know Byzantine garb has tons of beadwork on it. For those of you
>who do Byzantine garb, what are your favorite beads to sew onto it? I
>know they used alot of pearls. What else? ---Isabelle (still greedily
>eyeing those bead containers)

I have seen glass beads, gold and silver. Certain semi-precious stone
were quite period. Blue was a popular color of bead.

Sindara

From: hrjones at uclink.berkeley.edu (Heather Rose Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Early period Bead Work?!?!?
Date: 18 Jul 1996 02:28:20 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley

Gordon Bulmer (bulmerg at sos.pwgsc.gc.ca) wrote:
: Good Gentles, I know that the use of embroidery, and bead work goes back 
: along way, but most of the examples I have been able to lay my hands on are 
: from later period then I am looking for.  Does anyone have documentation of 
: early period use of bead work on garments (around 1150 would be good).  

: I was commissioned some time ago to work a friends coat of arms on the chest 
: of a wool over tunic, with floss, pearls and these wonderfull gold beads that 
: look just like amber.  The tunic turned out wonderful and now I would like 
: to show it off a little but have no concrete documentation for such a 
: treatment. Talk about getting the cart in front of the horse <grin>.

Whether the examples I can provide would be applicable to the project at
hand depends entirely on what you did with that floss, pearls, and beads.
For the 12th century, the best exemplars for decoration of combined
embroidery and pearls/beads are the coronation garments associated with
the Holy Roman Emperors. The piece that most often turns up in history of
costume books is a half-circular cloak with a pattern of tigers attacking
camels done in couched gold thread with outlines of double rows of pearls.
Another piece has cuffs with a palmetto design of miniscule couched gold
tubular beads, again with the pattern outlined with pearls. Another
garment has cuffs with interlace designs done in pearls and couched gold,
with cabochon gems in metal settings between the bands of interlace. The
cloak is probably the best example of a pictorial design.

Whether or not these pieces can be used to justify your project will
depend to a very large extent on what sort of embroidery you used and how
the stones were used in the design.

Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn

From: Wayne Anderson <wander at hooked.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 9 May 1996 21:24:16 GMT

From my studies of later period Russian costuming, which descended from Byzantine, it seems that mother of pearl chips were often used.  These give a more textured appearance than pearls.  These and other semi-precious stones such as amythest, malachite, tiger eye, onyx, garnet, etc., are available from many suppliers and, while not dirt-cheap, are certainly affordable for a special costume.  If you want to use  glass or plastic beads andlarger, sew-on jewels, avoid the faceted ones and stick to round beads and cabochon jewels. I would sew beads on a test swatch and wash or dry clean the sample to make sure your beads can take it before making the garb.

Omargo (Maudelyn of Bryn Aur  (that's right, I'm back!))

From: ddfr at best.com (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 10 May 1996 01:21:12 GMT

Wayne Anderson <wander at hooked.net> wrote:
>These and other
>semi-precious stones such as amythest, malachite, tiger eye, onyx, garnet,
>etc., are available from many suppliers and, while not dirt-cheap, are
>certainly affordable for a special costume.

Of these, tiger eye is probably out of period. Amethyst seems to have been
considerably more expensive relative to other stones in period than it is
now, so you might want to use it if you are trying to look rich, not if
you are trying not to. 

David/Cariadoc
-- 
ddfr at best.com

From: Wulf & Teddi <wulfgard at erols.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 11 May 1996 13:56:17 GMT
Organization: Clan Wulfgard

Ann Laurel Kopchik <amergina+ at CMU.EDU> wrote:
>What sort of beadwork was used on Byzantine garb?  I've done some
>research, and as far as I can tell, most of the beadwork was on trim.
>Where beads used anywhere else on byzantine garb?
>
>-Anwen
>
>Ann Kopchik
>Ann is amergina+ at cmu.edu - http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~amergina

Greetings,
To the best of my knowledge there are monastary records of the time 
stating that the nobility had garments so heavily laden with gems and 
beads that it was impossible for them to stand and move about without 
assistance. Now we have to remember that most monks felt oppressed by 
some of the nobility and have a long history of possible slandering of 
some nobles,(some accounts of Theodora's life for example), but in 
general we should be able to assume that if even 10% was true that was a 
lot of beading. "Too much is never enough."

Thats why I love them so!!!!

Lady Theodora Quennell

From: excmairi at aol.com (EXCMairi)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 14 May 1996 14:48:27 -0400

Check out the Medieval Craftsmen series (I don't have the other info. on
me at the moment...) - the one on embroidery/embroiderers.  There is a
photo of byzantine dalmatica cuffs (later period byz.) - that is covered
in a vine-scroll pattern done in gold bugle beads (the long, thin ones). 
Cool!

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Organization: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards CA
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 19:01:11 GMT

On 10 May 1996 01:21:12 GMT, ddfr at best.com (David Friedman) said:
C> Of these, tiger eye is probably out of period. Amethyst seems to
C> have been considerably more expensive relative to other stones in
C> period than it is now, so you might want to use it if you are
C> trying to look rich, not if you are trying not to.

Amethyst was extremely rare until it was found in Brazil in vast
quantities.  This, of course, drove the price down tremendously.
As a result, it went from being a precious gem to being semi-precious,
but this change was post-Period.
--
Mary Shafer               NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
SR-71 Flying Qualities Lead Engineer     Of course I don't speak for NASA 
shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov                               DoD #362 KotFR   
URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html

From: ddfr at best.com (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 15 May 1996 05:11:28 GMT

I wrote:
> C> Of these, tiger eye is probably out of period. Amethyst seems to
> C> have been considerably more expensive relative to other stones in
> C> period than it is now, so you might want to use it if you are
> C> trying to look rich, not if you are trying not to.

Mary Shafer wrote:
> Amethyst was extremely rare until it was found in Brazil in vast
> quantities.  This, of course, drove the price down tremendously.
> As a result, it went from being a precious gem to being semi-precious,
> but this change was post-Period.

1. I do not believe Amethyst appears in the lists of precious stones in
period (i.e. where people are distinguishing precious from other). I am
pretty sure that Cellini's list is like ours--diamond, emerald, ruby,
sapphire.

2. While I am not certain, I think the original price drop was due to
discoveries in Russia, with Brazil later. 

David/Cariadoc

From: parkerd at mcmail.cis.McMaster.CA (Diana Parker)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: 15 May 1996 14:18:13 -0400
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

David Friedman <ddfr at best.com> wrote:
>Mary Shafer wrote: 
>> Amethyst was extremely rare until it was found in Brazil in vast
>> quantities.  This, of course, drove the price down tremendously.
>> As a result, it went from being a precious gem to being semi-precious,
>> but this change was post-Period.

>2. While I am not certain, I think the original price drop was due to
>discoveries in Russia, with Brazil later. 

From Guide to Gems and Precious Stones (Cipriani&Borelli, 0-671-60430-9)

"OCCURRENCE: The finest amethyests come (in great quantities) from Brazil
and neighbouring Uraguay, from the the United States, Madagascar, and the
Soviet Union, Indian, Australia, South Africa, and many other countries." 
"VALUE: A few centuries ago, deep-colored amethyst was highly prized.  
Its value fell greatly with the discovery of the large Brazilian and 
Uruguayan deposits at the end of the nineteenth century.  Now relegated 
to the status of a secondary gem, its value is quite low."

From the same reference, " The violet, purple to almost pink variety of 
quartz is called amethyst, an ancient name derived from the Greek 
"Amethystos", meaning "not drunken," as it was believed to protect those 
who wore it from drunkeness.  It is the most highly prized variety of 
quartz."

cheers
Tabitha
-- 
 Diana Parker           parkerd at mcmaster.ca     (905) 525-9140 (x24282)
 CUC - 201               Security Services       McMaster University

From: sindara at pobox.com (Sharon R. Saroff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 21:27:46 GMT

I read a description of a Russian embroidery stitch called Placing
which is very strong. It is a second cousin of Couching, but instead
of putting a plain stitch between each bead you place a knot. Though
it takes practice to do this stitich, once mastered those beads aren't
going anywhere.

SIndara

From: sindara at pobox.com (Sharon R. Saroff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 21:56:20 GMT

I find it hard that Amethyst was so rare during our time period. I
have been researching the folklore of gems for the last four years and
have seen numerous reference to the amethyst for curing or dealing
with various ailments. Also I have found mention of Cat's Eye in
period under the name of crysoberyl. It is a very prominent stone to
the Hindu's and other peoples who dwell in that part of the world.

Sindara

From: sindara at pobox.com (Sharon R. Saroff)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Byzantine beadwork--???
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 21:56:22 GMT

Another heavily used type of bead was made of fresh water pearl which
was very abundant in the various rivers and streams. I have seen
Dalmatica cuffs with seed pearls in knotwork, vinework, and flower
patterns. There is a great book called A Pictorial History of
Embroidery that has a lot of pictures of period bead embroidery.

Sindara

From: Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri <robinson at avana.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,
Subject: Beadwork on Middle Eastern Garb
Date: Wed, 08 May 96 17:34:57 PDT
Organization: Avana Communications Corp.

I didn't see my last post on the subject, so I guess it got lost in 
cyberspace. Here it is again, for those who care, and don't:

===========================================================================

I have just made a major documentation run on the local university (looking 
for embroidery, primarily but also beads and beadwork). A few tidbits:

--Oldest extant embroidery (satin and stem stitch) is on a funerary shirt for 
King Tutankhamen, dated roughly 1400 BC

--Maghrebi style of embroidery first used 600-700 AD in Arabia and North 
Africa (Morocco)--largely geometric patterns, highly elaborate,designs similar 

to S. Italian and Balkan motifs, Indistinguishable from Aegean (Naxos), 
Palestinian designs; used stem stitch, thick cross stitch, satin stitch, split 

satin, chain

--Predominant color red, predominant ground color indigo, black, dark green, 
ground cloth linen or cotton, embroidery material silk and metal, rarely 
cotton

--What was embroidered: anything that stood still and that people might 
see--pants, coats, shirts, hankies, turban covers, shoes, scabbards, quivers, 
saddles, animal hangings, tents, bags, etc.

--Where was it embroidered: anywhere people might see it--you don't embroider 
what will be covered by something else (except for thawbs)

--Designs: If it is on an oriental carpet, it is fair game for embroidery--the 

motifs and patterns were used for both and were often village or tribal 
property

and now....

BEADS!!  SEED BEADS ARE PERIOD!!  Very small beads were first produced in 
Pharaonic Egypt, but glass beads of 1-3 mm size were being produced in Arabia 
from 700 to 1400 AD, when the Mongols invaded, and glass beadmaking moved to 
Venice, which became famous for seed beads about 100 years later.

Now I have to document putting the damn things on clothes--altho I found 
PRIMARY DOCUMENTATION of a complete set of Turkish woman's clothes which was 
elaborately beaded--1545, Topkapi Saray museum.

Sources:  Harris, Textiles, 5000 years
          Taylor, Ottoman Embroidery
          Dubin, The History of Beads
          Trilling, Aegean Crossroads  

==============================================================================

If I'm repeating myself, sorry. If you'd like an outline of ME embroidery and 
a bibliography, let me know and I will e-mail it.

In service to the Furtherment of Things Middle Eastern,

Sayyida Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri

Date: Mon, 05 May 1997 19:36:34 EDT
From: tourdion at juno.com
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Beadwork

<snip>

>       What are you meaning exactly by "beading"? They certainly did 
>sew beads on clothing, especially in late period, and they did wear 
>necklaces of glass beads durring early period--especially the Norse. But
>oddly enough, although the Italians in particular made a lot of
wonderful >glass beads, they *don't* seem to have worn them! They were
made for trading >and seem to have been reguarded as tacky, primative
things.... Silly people! 

<snip>

Ah, beadwork! One of my favorite subjects! I have found some
splendiferous pictures of 13th century Saxony beadwork done on parchment
and appliqued onto fabric used in church vestments. My first find came
from one of those Shire booklets on beadwork. It pertains mostly to
Victorian era stuff, but there is a marvelous strip of beadwork that
consists of saint figures. There are also more examples in a book called
Glasperlen by Edith Holm. As you can guess by the title, it's in German
but don't let that intimidate you. My German consists of everything I
learned from watching Hogan's Heroes and I still got a lot out of the
book. Hope this is useful.
Elspeth nic Cormac
Meridies

Date: Wed, 4 Jun 97 19:57:48 -0500
From: Irene leNoir <irene at ici.net>
To: "sca-arts" <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: Looking for documention on period seed beads

Others have already pointed out citations for seed beads being period.

To the best of my knowledge, loomed beadwork is not period for Mediaeval Europe.

I do, however, have documentation for "peyote" style beadwork (also 
occasionally known as twill beadwork) if you are interested.
________________________________
Jessica I. Clark
SCA: Baroness Ir=E8ne leNoir
jessica at ici.net or irene at ici.net

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 11:27:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Varju at aol.com
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Beads

There are a number of books on the history of beads that I been told are
excellent.  The only one i can remember off hand at this point is:

_Bead Embroidery_ by Joan Edwards

I have not read this book but I have heard it is very good.

Noemi
varj at aol.com

From: Rebekah & Chip <rinman at ucsd.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: period jewel fastening
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 22:55:56 -0700
Organization: University of California at San Diego

Isabelle de Foix queried:

> Does anybody know how they fastened all of those jewels on late period
> court garb? I once read that somebody was always following Queen
> Elizabeth I, picking up the jewels that fell off of her dress. Was the
> same method used throughout Western Europe or were different techniques
> employed? I *don't* think they sewed those things on!

The pearls on (at least late) Byzantine court (14th/15th century) attire
were, in fact, sewn on.  There are some beautiful close up color plates
of this work in a book called:

        Byzantine Art in the Collections of Soviet Museums
        Alisa V. Bank
        Leningrad: Aurora 1977

The pearls are drilled, the hole is parallel to the cloth.

The only stones I've seen appear to have been set in gold which wraps up
from the bottom forming a lip around the bottom of the stone.  These
photographs were not close enough for good detail, however, so I can
only call this speculation.

Bardas Xiphias,
Calafia, Caid

Chip, rinman at ucsd.edu

From: tjustus at sprynet.com (T Justus)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: period jewel fastening
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 07:09:20 GMT

>Does anybody know how they fastened all of those jewels on late period
>court garb? I once read that somebody was always following Queen
>Elizabeth I, picking up the jewels that fell off of her dress. Was the
>same method used throughout Western Europe or were different techniques
>employed? I *don't* think they sewed those things on! 

The short answer: Yes, the jewels were sewn on.

The longer answer: According to Janet Arnold, in an essay 'Sweet
England's Jewels'  in _Princely Magnificence: Court Jewels of the
Rennaissance, 1500-1630_ ( ed. Anna Somers Cocks, Debrett's Peerage
Ltd., 1980)  small jewels were sewn onto the garment. Single jewels
were pinned on (with a separate straight pin). Because pins could work
loose and jewels be lost as added security a ribbon would be tied over
the pin (seen toward the end of the 16th c). Brooches were jewels with
integral pins on the back. Jewels were often removed from one garment
and sewn on a new one, sometimes in combination with other jewels.
Occasionally a girdle (belt of linked units) was broken up so the
jewels could be sewn on individually. Gems were always in a metal
setting. The only exception to this rule I've seen are pearls, which
could be drilled and sewn on individually. Common designs for a jewel
would be a setting 'rose-fashioned' with a central stone surrounded by
other stones, petal-wise. A 'cinque' is a central stone surrounded by
four stones. (Cinq-- French for five.)  
   Yes, this sort of clothing was labor intensive. Cost of labor and
materials was not a concern if one was Queen. Labor was cheap.  The
cost of the tailor was a small fraction of the cost of the materials.
In 1559, the price of fabric for a kirtle for a minor noblewoman
ranged from 30 shillings (3 yds black damask) to 3 pounds (3 yds
wrought russet velvet) while the labor costs for making a kirtle was 2
to 4 shillings. ('The Clothes of Thomasine Petrie 1555-1559' by Anne
Buck, 'Costume' #24, 1990) At the other end of the social scale, for a
Welsh servant in the late 16th c the wool for two petticoats cost 3
shillings 6 pence, while the making of the petticoats cost 4 pence.
('Clothing given to a Servant of the Late Sixteenth Century in Wales'
by Ilid Anthony, 'Costume' #14, 1980)  Jewels were quite expensive.
Thomasine Petrie had 15 white enamel gold buttons that cost 1 pound 7
shillings for the materials, and 12 shillings 6 pence for the labor.
The most extravagant thing the Welsh maid Elin had was a girdle of
silk, which cost 18 shillings.
   I see no reason to think that jewel attachment methods were any
different in any of the other countries of Western Europe in the 16th
century.

Tracy Justus  AKA Clare de Crecy

Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 22:33:24 -0700
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Shisha Mirrors

<snip>
And for those interested in beads, I happened to stumble across:
http://www.mcs.net/~simone/beadfairies.html

Which is a HUGE site and has a bead FAQ with lots and lots of source
lists for those interested in beads. ;)

ciorstan

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 19:53:31 -0500
From: Roberta R Comstock <froggestow at juno.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Folkwear Patterns

On Sat, 24 Jul 1999 01:49:15 EDT <Phefner at aol.com> writes:
<<< They come with embroidery patterns, but I've never done embroidery aside
from a smattering of backstitch. I tried learning chain stitch and that thing
drove me nuts for weeks. I'd better learn this stuff or else......could I
get away with rocaille beads? That could save me a few headaches.

Isabelle >>>

Rocaille beads, the seed beeds with the mirror finish inside that makes
them glittery, are post period.  The silver lining is the same technique
used in making modern mirrors.  It was not known in the Renaissance.  I
don't have a reference, but believe it was discovered in the 18th
century.

Hertha

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 21:11:33 -0500
From: Roberta R Comstock <froggestow at juno.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Folkwear Patterns

On Sun, 1 Aug 1999 15:58:42 EDT <Phefner at aol.com> writes:
>I'm not talking about the beads with the silvery insides--if I'm not
>mistaken, those are bugle beads. "Rocaille" is French for "little rock" and
>they're just colored glass beads. They do come in crystal, but they don't
>refract that much light because they don't have that silvery inside.
>They're plain glass.
>
>Isabelle

In my experience the term rocaille is for the seed beads with mirrored
insides.  The elongated ones, whether mirrored or plain are bugle beads.
Plain glass seed beeds should work fine.  I know that there were jet
beads in period (Black, carved from a coal-like substance), and lots of
little seed pearls, gold and silver beads plus flat gold and silver
sequins.  One of the merchants at pennsic used to sell these, but I don't
remember who.

Another option for covering a lot of ground in a hurry is couching with
gold braid in swirling curves and vine-like patterns.  This goes much
faster than either embroidery or beading.  It can also be effectively
combined with beading, by placing your beads to represent flowers, seeds,
berries, or bunches of grapes.  Leaves could be addes in applique.

Hertha

From: Catrin ferch Maelgwn <ladycatrin at gmail.com>
Date: August 4, 2009 12:08:33 PM CDT
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] ISO sources for beadwork on garments

You might try this site:

http://www.medievalbeads.com/ - lots of good stuff on the lefthand sidebar under "research images."

-Catrin ferch Maelgwn

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 11:00 AM, Castellana Donea <
castellana.donea at yahoo.com> wrote:
<<< I am trying to find sources and examples on beaded garments (Western Europe 1200-1500) If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appriciate any help.

Lady Castellana Donea >>>

From: Monalee R Kendall <monaleekr at gmail.com>
Date: August 5, 2009 10:12:18 AM CDT
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] ISO sources for beadwork on garments

There are also some examples in the embroidery book in the Medieval Craftmen
series and in "Fashion in the Age of the Black Prince" book.

Genevieve

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 11:00 AM, Castellana Donea <
castellana.donea at yahoo.com> wrote:
<<< I am trying to find sources and examples on beaded garments (Western Europe
1200-1500) If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appriciate any help.

Lady Castellana Donea >>>

<the end>

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