The Saint Martin Series - MET embroideries

It was a bonanza of embroidery at the MET, hence why I rushed out when my family wanted to do a different museum!  There was of course the gallery with 17th century embroidery always out - so I had to do a pilgrimage there to my favorite stumpwork mirror.  But this time there was also a gallery with a series of medieval embroidered masterpieces to view.  These were a portion of the Saint Martin Series, the MET does not own the entire set.  A series of round embroideries that likely adorned a cope or other church textiles; they are only about nine inches in diameter but are packed with technique and character.

Again, the conservation of these pieces yielded many images that helped to enhance the description of the pieces.  When embroidery isn't your thing, these images and descriptions of technique and materials really help describe why the pieces are masterful beyond the imagery.  Giulia Chiostrini, Assistant Conservator has written a great blog on the MET site that repeats much of what is in the gallery and added much more.

The exhibit is on until October 25, 2015 in Gallery 960.  You can look at the objects on the site, and if you click on the magnify button, you can really see the stitches well.