Lucky red bead necklace

A recurring theme through many sixteenth century Italian Renaissance portraits is a red bead necklace. They are seen on middle/lower class women as well as noble ladies. Red coral was plentiful in Italy at the time, easy to shape, and visually appealing with its lustre and vibrant colour. Coral was used in jewellery for children because it was thought to protect them from danger and malicious influences. It is also seen in women's necklaces and as a horn-shaped charm (still worn by some Italian men to this day) and rosary/Paternoster bead sets. The colour red has traditional and ancient connections to blood and has been used in folk medicine as a healing agent over thousands of years and across many cultures.

Also, red beads look pretty, so I had to make myself a 'lucky' red bead necklace to go with my Italian garb!



The Fruit Seller by Vincenzo Campi 1580
Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/15340454950252510/


The FruitVendor by Vincenzo Campi
Image from: https://reproarte.com/en/choice-of-topics/category/food-and-drink/fruit/the-fruit-vendor-detail


Ghirlandaio's Portrait of a Girl
Image from: wikipaintings.org







Portrait of a Young Woman by Domenico Ghirlandaio
Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_Ghirlandaio




Madonna di Senigallia by Piero della Francesca (1470s)
Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Madonna_di_Senigallia.jpg





Image from: http://milano.ilquotidianoitaliano.it/il-cibo-nellarte-mostra-brescia/



Contadina Paduana - Unknown Artist
Image from: http://www.starlightmasquerade.com/PortraitGallery/Ladder-Laced-Venetian/inspiration-pages/openbodice74.htm




Portrait of An African Slave Woman by Caracci
Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Annibale_Carracci,_attrib.,_Portrait_of_an_African_Slave_Woman,_ca._1580s._Oil_on_canvas,_60_x_39_x_2_cm_(fragment_of_a_larger_painting.jpg/489px-Annibale_Carracci,_attrib.,_Portrait_of_an_African_Slave_Woman,_ca._1580s._Oil_on_canvas,_60_x_39_x_2_cm_(fragment_of_a_larger_painting.jpg



Portrait of a child by Sonofisiba Anguissola
http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_341196/Sofonisba-Anguissola/Portrait-of-a-child



Circle of Adriaen van der Linde
Portrait of a young girl, half-length, in a red dress with a white lace collar and cap
http://www.artnet.com/artists/adriaen-van-der-linde/past-auction-results


Two Sisters and Brother of the Artist
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofonisba_Anguissola#mediaviewer/File:Sofonisba_Anguissola_001.jpg



Unknown artist Portrait of a Girl holding a Rose & a Basket of Cherries (1568)
Image from: http://bjws.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/17c-children-on-checkerboard-floors.html




http://bjws.blogspot.com.au/2014_02_24_archive.html
1590s Adriaen van der Linde (Dutch artist, 1560-1609) Portrait of a Young Girl, Adriaen van der Linde



http://bjws.blogspot.com.au/2014_02_24_archive.html
 1605 Artist van Zelven (Probably a German artist) Portrait of a Child with a Dog 




1625 Unknown Artist of the Dutch school, Girl with cherries & doll
http://bjws.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/17c-children-on-checkerboard-floors.html



Portrait of a Young Boy - Flemish school
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flemish_School_Portrait_of_a_Young_Boy_1625.jpg



CIRCLE OF ADRIAEN VAN DER LINDE (Brugge c.1560 - 1609 Bolsward) Portrait of a Young Girl Aged Two with Dog
http://www.isherwoodfineart.com/index.cfm/item/111-circle-of-adriaen-van-der-linde-brugge-c1560-1609-bolsward-portr/


My beads are not coral (which is protected) but are a ceramic alternative. They are approximately 10mm in diameter and have a high lustre. They are simply strung on tiger tail wire with a small red glass seed bead spacer between them to help to show off the lovely shape of the large beads.

Portrait of Sibilla Kessel, c. 1540, Barthel Bruyn the Elder, Cologne
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/427701295836430045/



cORNEILLE DE LYON Portrait of Gabrielle de Rochechouart c. 1574
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/296252481710557196/



References and Bibliography

* Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precious_coral
* http://glimmerdream.com/gemjourneys/coral/history
* http://rosaliegilbert.com/necklaces.html
*  This site has a great list of myths and stories about coral: https://enchantedgems.wordpress.com/category/coral/coral-lore/

Wool cloak embroidery

I recently have been involved in a project to decorate some wool cloaks for friends. Another friend made the cloaks up in this lovely brown wool, and I decorated them with simple geometric embroidery, with the designs based on the recipients' heraldic devices.

The left side shows the first stage of embroidery - mid-green crochet cotton. The right side shows the darker green bar being added in stem stitch.

Although it doesn't show up well in the photo, there is a small stitch in light green added to the points of the triangles.

This one has a simple geometric design worked in crochet cotton (stem stitch).





Because the cloaks were unlined, I used bias binding to cover the back of the embroidery.

Fencing Tabbards

I haven't posted recently because I have been busy helping some friends to learn to sew and make some fencing tabbards. It has been a long but very successful project, with the finished articles looking great and my friends learning some new skills. I can't wait to see them in action on the field!

Split Stitch Collar Panel Piece

Today I finished a split stitch panel designed for a shirt collar for a friend. It was a very rushed project, so I am not entirely satisfied with the quality of the stitching. The design is adapted from a pattern in a sixteenth century Modelbuch, and is worked is split stitch in DMC cotton floss on cotton-linen base fabric. The embroidery is knotted on the back for extra strength when it is machine washed. I think it will look very nice when made up.