Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 27. (Budapest, 2009)
Enikő SIPOS: Hungarian-Related Textile Works in Switzerland
25. Comparative drawing of the tivo depictions of St John ly, the drawing was traced to an adequately thin piece of parchment (or one that had been made transparent with linseed oil) or paper. The contours of the copied drawing were pricked. Placed on the underlying fabric, powdered stone, chalk or coal was smeared on, and after the perforated sheet was removed, the dotted line was traced/ 2 Alternatively, a sketch drawn on a thin piece of silk was placed on the underlying material. It was then embroidered, and the superfluous silk cut away along the contours of the pattern. Its texture makes velvet difficult to embroider directly, so embroiderers, following Cennini's instructions, appliquéd the embroidered pattern latterly. 43 These copying techniques not only added speed to the process, but made multiple copying possible. In many cases multiplication was the only explanation to why embroidered patterns were so alike. 4 4 One work, held by the Hungarian National Museum, is a case in point of the practice of copying and multiplying patterns. One of the items in the collection of mediaeval chasubles 4 5 (made around 1400) affords comparison with an often-published piece of late-Gothic German textile art, the wonderful chasuble of Mary's Church in Gdansk. The figure of Saint John is, to all intents and purposes, identical in the two pieces. The only difference is that in the Gdansk chasuble Saint John is looking away from the chalice and there are subtle differences in the architectural details of the niche (fig. 22-25). The underlying fabric of the embroideries is linen or silk. Contemporary inventories mention materials called samitum and diaper, names that refer to the weaving or the place of manufacture. Embroidery was produced on material stretched on a frame using gilded silver, silver and coloured silk thread. Linen thread was usually only used as a padding material in protruding parts. Sculptural effects were produced by inserting pieces of leather, parchment or cloth. Very few types of stitches were used. Coloured silk thread was used for split, stem and satin stitches. Metal threads were placed in different directions on the background fabric and the pattern, and stitched to the underlying fabric with another thread, according to a geometrical pattern. All of these stitch types are still used. 4 6 The above embroidery techniques can be regarded as universal. The tools of embroidering were neither special in any way nor expensive. The simple wooden frame, the needles of different thickness, the thimbles and stitches have changed nothing over the centuries. Consequently, it can be assumed that such tools and techniques were used to create Agnes' antependia, too. 148
