Fragment
Object name
Date made
Late 19th century-early 20th century
Place made
Description
Fragment of late 19th or early 20th-century ecclesiastical embroidery featuring two angels holding a banner reading 'SANCTUS'.
Content description
Late 19th or early 20th-century fragment of an ecclesiastical embroidery featuring two winged angels holding a banner that reads, 'SANCTUS'. The deteriorated state of the object makes it possible to see much of the underdrawing. The embroidery is worked on linen with silk and metal passing threads, the orange core of which is visible in many places. The embroidery involves long and short and couching stitches. The word sanctus translates to holy. The fragment was mounted onto velvet at a later date.
Though it is not known where this embroidery would have originally been displayed, its religious nature suggests it would have been in a church or related space. The mixture of gold and silk, the use of long and short stitch, the naturalistic rendering of androgynous angels, and the font for 'SANCTUS' all relate to Arts and Crafts movement aesthetics, suggesting this piece was embroidered in Britain at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th.
Though it is not known where this embroidery would have originally been displayed, its religious nature suggests it would have been in a church or related space. The mixture of gold and silk, the use of long and short stitch, the naturalistic rendering of androgynous angels, and the font for 'SANCTUS' all relate to Arts and Crafts movement aesthetics, suggesting this piece was embroidered in Britain at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th.
Materials
Stitches
Techniques
Motifs
Catalogue number
RSN.1015
© Royal School of Needlework