Picture
Title
Mater Amabilis
Object name
Date made
Circa 1920
Place made
Description
A scene from the Litany of Loreto embroidery series, depicting the Virgin Mary kneeling next to the Christ child and the angel Gabriel, who kisses Christ's halo. The Virgin Mary is identified as Mater Amabilis in this embroidery, which is one of 12 panels illustrating the names of the Virgin from The Litany of Loreto, embroidered circa 1920.
Content description
A rectangular panel embroidered with the Virgin Mary, the angel Gabriel, and the Christ child, worked in silk and metal threads on silk satin. The Virgin, who has a halo inscribed with the words 'MATER AMABILIS', has her hands in prayer as she kneels beside Christ and Gabriel. The haloed Christ sleeps while the haloed and winged Gabriel leans down to kiss his halo. The textiles within the image are adorned with stylised crosses and the grandeur of the moment is emphasised by the figures' garments, particularly the Virgin's carefully embellished cope, which drapes into the foreground. Jesus is covered by a richly patterned coverlet. Gabriel's dress is represented by flowing horizontal lines and his intricate wings curve round to the top right hand corner of the piece, creating a feeling of harmony within the composition.
A limited, muted palette of creams, greys, black, and brown has been worked onto a cream silk satin ground, with shinier areas in silk floss and more matte areas in filoselle. The couched goldwork is worked in various sizes of Japanese thread. Hair is worked in dense and finely shaded long and short stitch to emphasise light catching curls and waves, while faces are very lightly worked with fine, straight stitch cross-hatching in the same colour as the ground fabric or slightly darker to suggest modelling. Outlines are worked in stem stitch and split stitch, and the general use of a black thread outline for the figures gives them strong definition, which contrasts with the figures' delicate features. In the background is a series of white stars or snowflakes made of a series of straight stitches. Smaller versions of the star/snowflakes are seen in Gabriel's hair and next to Christ's bed. The lightly contrasting checkerboard floor is made up of trellis stitches. The scene is framed by a border of gold Japanese threads in S-ing and couching, flanked by tiny stem stitches.
The overall effect is to emphasise the delicate line, light, and shade of the design, which is a very distinctive feature of all the embroideries in this Litany of Loreto series. This series includes twelve embroideries, all now in the possession of the Royal School of Needlework. Thanks to work done by Mary Corbet and John A. Shaffer, we know that these embroideries were produced from designs by Italian graphic designer Ezio Anichini, who trained at the Florence School of Art in 1900. Anichini first produced 46 designs based on the Litany of Loreto, a litany to the Virgin Mary, in 1912, when they appeared in the magazine Scena Illustrata. Following the magazine's release of these images, they appeared in two book-format editions with postcard-sized reproductions. The last was issued in 1930. These twelve embroideries were produced by an unknown maker or makers, likely sometime after the original 1912 production of the Anichini designs. It is unknown whether they were originally part of a larger group. By 1970 the twelve panels were in the possession of the Mayfield Convent in East Sussex, England. They were donated to the Royal School of Needlework upon the closure of the convent in the 1970s.
Anichini’s designs were derived from the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587 for use throughout the Catholic Church. The litany is also known as the Litany of Loreto, as it originated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto (Basilica della Sandra Casa) near Ancona, on the east coast of Italy. This had been a place of pilgrimage since the 13th century when a cottage presumed to be that lived in by the Virgin apparently appeared at the site, and a shrine was built to mark the event. The original litany lists the names used in the church for the Virgin Mary, often chanted as a call and response.
The name used in this embroidery, inscribed in the halo, ‘Mater Amabilis’ in Latin, can be translated as Mother Most Amiable because she does everything with love and for love. This is reflected in the kind, meek expression on her face as she looks down toward her son.
A limited, muted palette of creams, greys, black, and brown has been worked onto a cream silk satin ground, with shinier areas in silk floss and more matte areas in filoselle. The couched goldwork is worked in various sizes of Japanese thread. Hair is worked in dense and finely shaded long and short stitch to emphasise light catching curls and waves, while faces are very lightly worked with fine, straight stitch cross-hatching in the same colour as the ground fabric or slightly darker to suggest modelling. Outlines are worked in stem stitch and split stitch, and the general use of a black thread outline for the figures gives them strong definition, which contrasts with the figures' delicate features. In the background is a series of white stars or snowflakes made of a series of straight stitches. Smaller versions of the star/snowflakes are seen in Gabriel's hair and next to Christ's bed. The lightly contrasting checkerboard floor is made up of trellis stitches. The scene is framed by a border of gold Japanese threads in S-ing and couching, flanked by tiny stem stitches.
The overall effect is to emphasise the delicate line, light, and shade of the design, which is a very distinctive feature of all the embroideries in this Litany of Loreto series. This series includes twelve embroideries, all now in the possession of the Royal School of Needlework. Thanks to work done by Mary Corbet and John A. Shaffer, we know that these embroideries were produced from designs by Italian graphic designer Ezio Anichini, who trained at the Florence School of Art in 1900. Anichini first produced 46 designs based on the Litany of Loreto, a litany to the Virgin Mary, in 1912, when they appeared in the magazine Scena Illustrata. Following the magazine's release of these images, they appeared in two book-format editions with postcard-sized reproductions. The last was issued in 1930. These twelve embroideries were produced by an unknown maker or makers, likely sometime after the original 1912 production of the Anichini designs. It is unknown whether they were originally part of a larger group. By 1970 the twelve panels were in the possession of the Mayfield Convent in East Sussex, England. They were donated to the Royal School of Needlework upon the closure of the convent in the 1970s.
Anichini’s designs were derived from the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587 for use throughout the Catholic Church. The litany is also known as the Litany of Loreto, as it originated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto (Basilica della Sandra Casa) near Ancona, on the east coast of Italy. This had been a place of pilgrimage since the 13th century when a cottage presumed to be that lived in by the Virgin apparently appeared at the site, and a shrine was built to mark the event. The original litany lists the names used in the church for the Virgin Mary, often chanted as a call and response.
The name used in this embroidery, inscribed in the halo, ‘Mater Amabilis’ in Latin, can be translated as Mother Most Amiable because she does everything with love and for love. This is reflected in the kind, meek expression on her face as she looks down toward her son.
Dimensions
width: 61cm
height: 78cm
height: 78cm
Materials
Stitches
Trellis 
Straight stitch
Couching
Long and short stitch
Split stitch
Stem stitch
Satin stitch
S-ing (goldwork)
Bricking
Straight stitch
Couching
Long and short stitch
Split stitch
Stem stitch
Satin stitch
S-ing (goldwork)
Bricking
Techniques
Motifs
Credit line
Gift of Mayfield Convent, 1970s.
Catalogue number
RSN.1200
© Royal School of Needlework