- Your Name and Title: Countess Ianthé d’Averoigne, OR, OL, CoC, CCoM
- Title of your Project: Blackwork Coif
- Location: Barony of Carolingia
- East Kingdom Wiki Link: https://wiki.eastkingdom.org/wiki/Ianthe_d%27Averoigne
- Website/Blog Link: http://string-or-nothing.com
- Category: Textiles — Embroidery
I was part of a group effort to interpret a historical design, taken from Victoria & Albert Museum holding T.844-974. Participants were given free rein to work the piece in any style they wished. I chose traditional inhabited blackwork – with some liberties. I used silk, metal wrapped thread, and gold tone paillettes, on 72/74 count linen. My piece is true to the over the top opulence of the time, but departed from historical practice in the sheer number, complexity, and variety of fills used.
The piece was part of a massed exhibit in Sheffield, UK in December of 2023, where it was requested for permanent collection by staff of the Victoria & Albert Museum (one of the sponsors). I donated it, and my coif can now be reserved for in-person viewing in the museum’s new South Wing. It can also be seen on the V&A website in ultra high resolution photos, and with my accompanying essay on exactly why it is and is not period-adherent (link below).
Official Victoria and Albert Museum collection page for the coif. Includes very high resolution photos of front and back (much better than mine):
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1790773/an-unstitched-coif—coifs-salazar-kim-brody
Detailed write-up on materials and methods. Permission granted to organizers of the display to use any desired text and photos from this page:
That is amazing!!