On March 7, 2020 I had the good fortune of presenting my latest brocade project at An Tir's Kingdom A&S event as a single entry (also my last in-person SCA event prior to COVID times):
Examination and execution of the brocaded tablet woven pattern from the painting “Bildnis einer Frau” – Portrait of a Woman by the Master of the legend of St. Ursula, circa 16th century.
I've included my paper's introduction, as it is a good initial summary of the project (please reach out to me if you are interested in the full paper):
In fifth century C.E. tablet weaving methodology shifted from woven patterns created from different colored threads to the addition of supplemental brocade wefts woven into plain, often single-colored, tablet woven bands.1 Brocade tablet woven bands are some of the most visually impressive tablet woven examples due to the rich surface effect achieved that is similar to embroidery and often utilizes precious metals to create the surface pattern. Brocade tablet woven bands were widely produced and are present in archeological evidence throughout Europe, enjoying popularity from sixth century C.E. to the early sixteenth century. This paper analyzes the brocade girdle (or belt) pattern that is depicted in the c. 1500 painting “Bildnis einer Frau” or “Portrait of a Woman” painted by the Master of the legend of St. Ursula. As little is recorded about the subject of the portrait, this document will examine the city of Cologne and the history of the area as the Master did the majority of his painting there, what can be gleaned about the subject based on her clothing, textile production, trade and brocade tablet weaving from the general time and area, examination of extant belt and girdle examples from the approximate time period, and materials, tools, and weaving techniques used during the time period to create this and other similar brocade pieces. It also discusses my personal challenges, practice and test pieces, my theories and their evaluation as a result of my research. The objective of this paper is to undeniably prove my assertion that the belt pictured in the painting “Bildnis einer Frau” is a brocade tablet woven piece, and that my pattern and object reproduction reflect the details of the painted object and capture what it may have looked like when it existed.
Most of my previous brocade experience has been expressly focused on the tenth century Birka, Sweden finds due to my SCA persona’s Norse background. After corresponding with Ellisif Gydasdottir, a Laurel in Atlantia (now across the globe) who is widely renown for her late-period tablet weaving and brocade, I decided to tread outside of my comfort zone and attempt a post-twelfth century C.E. brocade piece. I selected the “Bildnis einer Frau” pattern because I am unfamiliar with later period brocade works and had never attempted patterning from a painting and wanted to see if I could successfully manage it. The painting was brought to my attention by HL Sibylla de Waryn when I mentioned wanting to attempt a project of this nature.
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| Bildnes einer Frau - Portrait by the Master of the legend of St. Ursula |
My presentation and paper were well received and I was an awarded "Scholar of An Tir" for my entry's final score. Below is the object reproduction and display I put together for the event. I'm currently doing a rework of the belt pattern and technique used to display at a later date as a fully finished girdle (with appropriate period buckle and hardware reproduction).
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| Display Setup |
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| Reproduction of the girdle pattern (brocade weft is gilded wrapped thread, as it likely would have been in the extant) |
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