Gorgeous Butterflies

Gorgeous Butterflies embroidered on silk 19th c

 

 

This is the most delightful work, fine, even embroidery so delicate and colourful, on a 19th c oriental panel. The colours are very good, as you would expect from silk, which holds its colour well if protected from sunlight. I imagine this came from a beautiful costume originally, and I can just picture the butterflies almost fluttering on the costume when the light picks up the luminescence of the silks.

The autumn season is now upon us, today is the official first day, so for me there is a sadness in the falling of the leaves and the gradual closing down of all the plants until the joy of seeing snowdrops and aconites again in January. I cannot say I enjoy the feeling of impending darkness, it just makes me want to migrate South! I mean Mediterranean south not Surrey!

However I just have to manage, and try to plant even more things to encourage our own beautiful aristocratic butterflies, which have been lapping up the nectar on our enormous buddleia trees up until the cold snap a few days ago...

The Emir of Bukhara had a very fine coat

The Emir of Bukhara

 

Let me introduce you to the Emir of Bukhara c. 1910 a fellow highly decorated with medals and sword, but for me, it is the beauty of his silk coat which stands out. The gorgeous peacock blue with the vibrancy of those flowers, all of which would have been hand-embroidered, are just exquisite. The quality of the work would have been of the highest order.

My son sent me a link to a series of photographs showing life in the Russian Empire during the first decade of the 1900s - with all its diversity - and the Emir was one of them, as well as the demure Armenian lady in her national costume below, again very finely embroidered. Being highly interested in history as well as textiles these two photographs really captured my imagination.

How careful people must have been with their clothing when they had to make everything by hand. These photographs are so evocative and capture something of life in the Russian Empire which seems so colourful and almost tribal, a far cry from the drab communist the Russia, of the majority of the 20th century.

Armenian Lady in National Costume c.1910

The link for those who want to see more of these excellent photographs is: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html
- they are from the Prokudin-Gorskii collection bought by the Library of Congress (USA) in 1948 and who have made these accessible. Thank you.

Original Decorator's Label

c. 1910 Interior Decorator's Label 

This is fab! I couldn't resist putting this on the blog. We have a new website launching soon which is for original architectural pieces and this label was on the reverse of a door pediment fitted when the house was refurbished. The door pediment and various other items were marbelised - that special painted marble effect and by dint of the label we know who did it. The website is called www.original-period-interiors.co.uk coming soon!

The French quality...

19th C Lyons Silk Border

This is the most wonderful quality 1890s French Lyons silk and wool woven border, which looks warm and glowing, the bouquets of summer flowers so lifelike in their detail. It is an irresistible piece and there are 6 metres so enough for a project like edging curtains or making many, many cushions.

19th C Woven Silk Seat Cover

Another Lyons Silk piece, a woven seat cover in the most subtle of colour combinations, would make a fantastic cushion if not wanted for its original purpose...the French really are a classy nation, and were even more so in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sometimes I just shake my head in utter awe at the level of quality of fabric, design and workmanship!

Stunning flower design needlepoints, almost better than the real thing!

19th C needlepoint and beadwork piece

This is the most delicious piece of work, the colours are riotous, and the beadwork on the Lily trumpet gives an almost 3-dimensional feel, especially with the deep black background, so typical of the Victorian era.

Then there is the royal red background of this beadwork piece below, adding a touch of class. 

Victorian beadwork on needlepoint

You could be forgiven for thinking that the flowers so beautifully worked by such skilled needlewomen look almost better than the real thing, but then... the bee knows that nature has the edge!

Acanthus flower with bee

And so does the humble hover-fly.

Exotic phormium flower attracting the interest of a hover-fly