opus anglicanum

opus anglicanum

      (Latin: “English work”), embroidery done in England between about 1100 and about 1350 and of a standard unsurpassed anywhere. The technical skill that was shown by English workers in handling gold—i.e., silver gilt thread—was unequaled. Gold was used in large expanses as background for figures that were embroidered in coloured silks. Another characteristic of opus anglicanum was the general vivacity of expression and pose in the figure modeling of features—the use of split stitches worked spirally, for example, to suggest rotund cheeks and black, popping eyes. Minutely observed birds and animals, clearly based on contemporary animal drawings, figured largely in the decorative schemes.

      Opus anglicanum was famous throughout Europe. Liturgical vestments such as copes (cope) in this type of embroidery were given and sold to churches abroad, including the cathedral church of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome, where they were much prized; several popes commissioned such vestments. Opus anglicanum has consequently survived all over Europe wherever historic vestments are treasured; there are also examples in the United States in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. In England the largest collection is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which possesses, among other examples, several famous copes, including the Syon cope (late 13th century) and the Butler-Bowden cope (early 14th century).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Opus Anglicanum — Embroidered bookbinding for the Felbrigge Psalter in couched gold thread and split stitch, likely worked by Anne de Felbrigge, a nun in the convent of Minoresses at Bruisyard, Suffolk, during the latter half of the fourteenth century.[1] Opus… …   Wikipedia

  • Opus Anglicanum — Lit. English work . In the 10c and 11c decorated textiles were often referred to as being distinctly English, notably gold embroidery. However, the reputation of this work lasted well into the 15c. By the 12c the very finest textiles were always… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • opus anglicanum — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Opus — (lat.), Werk; in der Literatur ein schriftstellerisches Werk, daher Opera (s. d.), die Werke eines Autors; in der Musik (abgekürzt Op.) eine größere oder kleinere Komposition (und zwar pflegen die Komponisten ihre Werke in der Reihenfolge der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Couching — For the surgical technique, see Couching (ophthalmology). Detail of the Bayeux Tapestry showing fillings in laid work. In embroidery, couching and laid work are techniques in which yarn or other materials are laid across the surface of the ground …   Wikipedia

  • ART DE COUR — Une série d’expositions (de 1962 à 1978), que complète le livre de Enrico Castelnuovo sur l’art au palais des Papes d’Avignon (1962), a révélé la continuité de l’art des cours européennes de Saint Louis à la régence du duc de Bedford sous Charles …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Women artists — Women have been involved in making art in most times and places, despite difficulties in training and trading their work, and gaining recognition. For about three thousand years, the women and only the women of Mithila have been making devotional …   Wikipedia

  • Goldwork (embroidery) — Goldwork , Uniform …   Wikipedia

  • Early medieval European dress — changed very gradually from about 400 to 1100. The main feature of the period was the meeting of late Roman costume with that of the invading peoples who moved into Europe over this period. For a period of several centuries, people in many… …   Wikipedia

  • Felbrigge Psalter — The Felbrigge Psalter is an illuminated manuscript Psalter from mid 13th century England that has an embroidered bookbinding which probably dates to the early 14th century. It is the oldest surviving book from England to have an embroidered… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”