English Work (c1350). Opus Anglicanum, or English work, was a style of embroidery that emerged in England in the 12th century and became highly sought after throughout Europe. It was characterized by its intricate designs, vibrant colors, and use of precious materials such as gold and silver thread. Opus Anglicanum had a significant influence on the development of Italian Renaissance embroidery. Italian artists and craftsmen were exposed to English embroidery through trade and diplomatic exchanges, and they began to incorporate elements of the English style into their own work. This can be seen in the use of similar motifs, such as foliage and animals, as well as the use of gold and silver thread. Opus Anglicanum also had an impact on the development of Spanish embroidery. Spanish artists were particularly drawn to the use of color in English embroidery, and they began to experiment with new dyeing techniques in order to achieve similar effects. This can be seen in the vibrant colors and intricate patterns of Spanish embroidery from the 16th and 17th centuries. Opus Anglicanum had a significant impact on the development of ecclesiastical vestments, or the ceremonial garments worn by clergy members during religious services. English embroidery was highly prized for its use in vestments, and many of the most important churches and cathedrals in Europe commissioned English embroiderers to create elaborate garments for their clergy. This helped to spread the influence of Opus Anglicanum throughout Europe and beyond. Opus Anglicanum or English work is fine needlework of Medieval England done for ecclesiastical or secular use on clothing, hangings or other textiles, often using gold and silver threads on rich velvet or linen grounds. Such English embroidery was in great demand across Europe, particularly from the late 12th to mid-14th centuries and was a luxury product often used for diplomatic gifts. Most of the surviving examples of Opus Anglicanum were designed for liturgical use. These exquisite and expensive embroidery pieces were often made as vestments, such as copes, chasubles and orphreys, or else as antependia, shrine covers or other church furnishings. Secular examples, now known mostly just from contemporary inventories, included various types of garments, horse-trappings, book covers and decorative hangings. Opus Anglicanum was usually embroidered on linen or, later, velvet, in split stitch and couching with silk and gold or silver-gilt thread. Gold-wound thread, pearls and jewels are all mentioned in inventory descriptions.Although often associated with nunneries, by the time of Henry III, who purchased a number of items for use within his own court and for diplomatic gifting, the bulk of production was in lay workshops, mainly centred on London. The names of various embroiderers of the period appear in the Westminster royal accounts. English needlework had become famous across Europe during the Anglo-Saxon period and remained so throughout the Gothic era. A Vatican inventory of 1295 lists over 113 pieces from England, more than from any other country; a request by Pope Innocent IV, who had envied the gold-embroidered copes and mitres of English priests, that Cistercian religious houses send more is reported by the Benedictine chronicler Matthew Paris of St Albans: This command of my Lord Pope did not displease the London merchants who traded in these embroideries and sold them at their own price. The high water mark of style and refinement is normally considered to have been reached in the work of the 13th and early 14th centuries. An influential exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum from September-November 1963 displayed several examples of Opus Anglicanum from this period alongside contemporary works of wood and stone sculpture, metalwork and ivories. Survival rates for Opus Anglicanum are low as is clear from comparing the large number listed in contemporary inventories with the handful of examples still existing. Sometimes ecclesiastical garments were later modified for different uses, such as altar coverings or book covers.
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