Database of Medieval English Embroidery

The Princeton Index of Christian Art. The Princeton Index of Christian Art.

"Opus Anglicanum - the Evelyn Thomas Database of Medieval English Embroidery" is the full title of a photographic index of English medieval embroidery, with an emphasis on opus anglicanum. The database is part of the Index of Christian Art (Princeton University), which was founded by Prof. Charles Rufus Morey (1877-1955) in 1917.

Initially the Index recorded works from early Apostolic times to 1550, with an emphasis on art of the Western world. This was later changed to include Armenia, Coptic Egypt, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Syria, and the Near East in general.

Following a conference at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2013) on Opus Anglicanum it was decided to add a section on medieval English embroidery to the Index in Princeton. This new section was called “Opus Anglicanum - The Evelyn Thomas Database of Medieval English Embroidery" and was named after Evelyn Thomas, an English specialist in this field, whose collection of opus anglicanum images and information was used as its foundation.

In addition, the database is being used as a means of updating what is regarded as a pioneering publication by Grace Christie about medieval English embroidery, entitled: A Brief Survey of English Embroidery Dating from the Beginning of the Tenth Century Until the End of the Fourteenth : Together with a Descriptive Catalogue of the Surviving Examples : Illustrated with One Hundred and Sixty Plates and Numerous Drawings in the Text (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1938).

See also: OWEN-CROCKER, Gale, Elizabeth COATSWORTH and Maria HAYWARD (eds., 2012). Encyclopedia of Dress and Textiles in the British Isles c. 450-1450. Leiden: Brill.

Digital source (retrieved 6 May 2016)

GVE

Last modified on Friday, 24 February 2017 18:17