Nacré Work

Modern form of nacré work. A table runner with embroidery and applied mother-of-pearl shapes. Modern form of nacré work. A table runner with embroidery and applied mother-of-pearl shapes.

Nacré work is a form of decorative needlework using mother-of-pearl (French: nacré). Traditionally, nacré work consists of shapes, such as petals and leaves, cut out of mother-of-pearl, which have one or more holes drilled into them. The shapes are then sewn onto a velvet or silk ground using silk or gold thread.

Nacré work was sometimes used in Northern Europe to decorate borders of Christian liturgical vestments. In general, nacré work had gone out of fashion in Northern Europe by the late nineteenth century.

Source: CAULFEILD, Sophia Frances Anne and Blanche C. SAWARD (1882). The Dictionary of Needlework, London: L. Upcott Gill, p. 352.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 9th July 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Wednesday, 31 May 2017 15:44