The Art of Victorian Embroidery

Victorian Embroidery marked the era of "Modern Embroidery" as defined by Mary Elizabeth Turner, a well-known Victorian embroiderer and founder of the Women's Guild of Arts in England during the late 1800's, in an essay entitled, aptly enough, Modern Embroidery.

The Victorian era is defined by Queen Victoria's reign from June of 1837 until her death in January 1901.

Mary Turner was not happy with the direction modern embroidery was headed--she felt that it lacked the richness and fullness of the embroidery of earlier times.

Embroidery - a Woman's Art
At that time, embroidery was solely a woman's art and many women gathered in parlors whilst they embroidered and gossiped. Mary Turner deemed Victorian embroidery as "...frequently very naturalistic, and seems rather to seek after a life-like rendering of the object to be embroidered than the decoration of the material to be ornamented."

Mary thought that the "new embroidery" was flawed, careless, weak, and ignored the law of every curve and line." Little would she know that Victorian Embroidery would eventually be viewed as a fine art and that samplers would be locked away in museums.

Hand-Made Butter Soft Dove Gray Suede Gloves
Pictured are hand-made suede gloves, circa 1845-65. The gauntlet cuffs are lined with gray silk. The gloves close on the under side with small black glass buttons. The quality of construction and attention to detail indicate that the gloves were very expensive when new.

The embroidery brilliantly combines traditional floral motifs with whimsical cross stitching around the thumb. The silk floss embroidery is executed in satin stitch, French knots, and cross stitch.