Floral border, design for embroidery, watercolour by Mary Symonds

c.1900

Item

780 mm x 1084 mm (max)

Symonds, Mary: Miss Mary Symonds (Mrs Guy Antrobus) – born 1868, embroiderer, designer and author of Needlework Through the Ages together with Louisa Preece. Supplied a number of designs to the RSAN. She ran an embroidery atelier in Oxford Street and was involved in a number of high profile embroidery restorations and projects. https://archive.org/details/needleworkthroug00antr/page/n19/mode/2up
Symonds, Mary

Watercolour and body colour (gouache) on paper. Floral border design for embroidery. Showing a central vase and trailing flowers and foliage including roses, sweet peas, carnations, chrysanthemum and cherries and acanthus style foliage. Colours are grey (vase) pinks, purples, yellows, browns and greens.

This border may well have a historical source as one of Mary Symonds specialities seems to have been the copying of historic textiles for embroidery patterns, although she also produced her own compositions.

There are a number of designs in the RSN collection seemingly bought from Mary Symonds, this is by far the largest, it is cut into an 'L' shape and shows the lower left corner of a border. The design forms a mirror repeat across the vase at the centre bottom. The scrolling branches create a rotational repeat which continues up the left hand side. The paper has been reinforced and edged at some point.

Stamped Miss M. Symonds, 399 Oxford St, London W with 'Quilt Border' written by hand.

Miss M. Symonds, 399 Oxford St, London W Handwritten 'Quilt Border'

D4/42