a walk and rest

It has been an amazing few hours! Since my last post I have had a windfall of luck in finding more keys to unlocking my Cleves project! A book arrived that includes information about Anna and Amalia and in there was a footnote about a triptych. The triptcyh I have been looking for without knowing what to look for. The triptychon der Rosenkranzbruderschaft, the 1528 one not the actually well published 17thc one! This triptyich has the ruling family in full. And attendants behind them. After years of finding paintings of citizens it has been very hard to find portraits of the nobility.

This is the only online image!

Anna is in the yellow gown, Amalia in the reddish pinkish gown. This picture alone confirms a few theories I have had as well as supports some documentation I have held onto and not shared because I had zero frame of reference!

But my book also includes a small list of items for the laundry, including a lot of garments for the head, but not only is the transcription good, there is a photo of the list from the document!!!

On the next page is what I think is her inscription in the song book (which I also have a full copy of so should be able to find it) and it confirms my suspicion about the use if ij and y in this location at this time. Which means even more ways to look for information but it also makes it hard as most transcriptions of documents are slightly modernised.

So then from this book I went looking at other books, and have the exhibition catalogue that includes a photo of the triptych and more. And I also found another copy of the inventory that got lost in the mail- I have no idea how the book worked its way out of the packaging but I got a little envelope with my invoice which was very battered.

And then I found a free catalogue from early 1900s with more lists of paintings I probably won’t find easily.

And.. oh yes. I will bring back The Frazzled Frau. Already started as a series of pinterest boards as it is honestly a very easy to maintain visual database of images. I do try to find the original in all my pins, but occasionally wind up linking to the nearest best option.

 

Anyway. With this new information I am indeed going to work on my accessories this weekend. This means I need to rest and repair my hands as well as get a little exercise to make up for the inactivity of trawling through archives for a good few days. Well months. Years in total but a walk can only do so much.

 

But now I can be really pretty darn sure that my investment in my projects is in the right direction!

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Current projects

I took a day  this week to make sure all my projects are easily found and while initially it was overwhelming, I think I am not just at the inspired stage 🙂

I have a lot of current projects, but having them nicely divided into clear containers mean I can actually see them 🙂

I really want to finish my Cleves research this year. Or at least be at a point where I can say “yes, I can talk about this.” Because let me tell you, I have a heck of a lot of info for Cologne but there is very little for Cleves, Jullich and Berg. It’s a larger geographical spread and lots of archives are just gone. I have looked for donor portraits, any portraits and they are just.. not there.

Later yes.

Anyway. I now do have a pretty Cleves dress, a beautiful Cleaves dress, and a working kirtle type garment. I’m mainly working on accessories. But my red velvet gown is at the same stage my pink and black Cleves dresses were a few months ago so I can definitely work on the hand finishing of that this year.

So that least the later historic and modern media recreations.

I want Mina finally finished. That has been a struggle for fitting the bodice as my fabric has zero give. So the lining has to have zero give. I may have finally managed that but I need a bit of time to work on making it all tidy and transportable.

And I want my Elissa costume done. I should have left it alone but well… I wanted to wear it where accuracy is still prized so… but it’s okay. I think I’m just not wanting to face the rope skirt. It’s about 8m of velvet and while I have cut the pieces I have to pull and roll them and somehow make sure they don’t unroll. This is easier with velour but these are clearly velvet.

And Ahsoka. I am now happy with where Rebels has left her (in fact it’s exactly what I hoped and thought was the most logical outcome) so feel a lot happier in investing in the project again 🙂 It’s been intense and nothing is even close to finished due to just not having any luck with any material.

 

So that leaves Marie Antoinette as my other must finish project. It’s hard because I really do need a metal frame. Luckily the original is very short so it’s possible I can find support material for it. I am very disappointed with the plastic stuff now available. It’s not at all like the older stuff with an oval cross section. That had a fibrous property that made it really quite firm, and the oval cross section helped curves maintain shape. I get a greally nice kidney shape but that is not at all the shape of these things.

This may be a project for next year. I have all the fabrics, it’s a matter of boning for the stays and hoops. I think I have an idea for making the hoops solid and transportable though.

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update of sorts

I have a draft post saved about goal post shifting, as someone who has been involved in multiple facets of costume and community I have a few thoughts.

It boils down to: I am an expert in my field. But I can’t rest on what I learned 10 years ago. I have to keep seeking out new information to be so.

I don’t expect people who don’t have the same foundation to be an expert, but I do expect experts to keep pushing in their field. And anyone who aims to be to do the same. Believe me there is no end point in research. Just endpoints in access.

 

I have also heard it’s harder now to achieve that level. I would argue that it really is not. It has always required a bloody minded persistence to follow paths of unsuccessful research and to find new ones.

There is a lot more information yes, but also a whole lot of new tools to sift through that information. There are now OCS scans of documents in scripts I couldn’t make head or tale of before. With these transcripts I can identify words that were not visible to me a decade ago.

 

Those of us held in regard as experts need to share those tools as well.

 

 

So that’s what I’m working on.  Figuring out how to describe what I do instinctively. But usually it’s started by throwing a word in a search engine and seeing what dictionaries have to say and how many peer reviwed articles it appears in 🙂

 

Also slowly working on finishing work on my Cleves projects 🙂 I think I’m getting a handle on the words of mystery based on breaking down how clothing must function based on how they sit in images.

 

And have a new thing to research so, yay!

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cleves headgear

I still need to do some tidying, and I am definitely making a few more of these, so it’s not totally complete right now. I need to sit it slightly further forward too.

 

(Wearing my Kimmy Schmidt cardigan because it’s so much part of my new me- allowing myself to wear several colours at once.)

I added more pearls yesterday to the embroidery of the pink hat and sewed up the brim.

 

The seam allowance was caught through all layers with a pick stitch every 2″ which anchored the gathering running stitch into short curves that follow the edge. The prick stitches are nearly invisible on the other side.

The pearls were removed from the frame. I made two more circles of the same heavy duty fusible/shape-forming material to add extra support the pearl platter shape and basted a layer of shot silk to the inner most circle.

Then clipped the extra fabric to the same depth and gathered to create the turn under.This was easy as the support circles kept the shape perfectly.

I bound the edges and trapped the gathers in place. The silk is bias cut. I used to also believe this was fairly wasteful until I started to think like a workshop. Bias is not at all wasteful if you use a short length over several projects.

As an example. The skirt for the gown that this hat is made for used 3m of velveteen for the hem guarding. That is more than I used in the skirt. It is in part because I was cutting on the fly but I kept my seam allowance to a minimum.

But I used three strips of bias tape for the hem facing and about the same for the underskirt. And I have a lot of silk left over.

So, think about how many projects you can use your bias strips for and dedicate a length to that 🙂

 

The cap was pulled apart a few nights ago during a bit of insomnia and then I got to test a few lengths of brocade.

I decided on a denser piece of the same saree I used originally on this form. And I used the same silk as used in the bias tape to tidy the inside. I do not have any curved needles but I found a cheapie one that could be bent and oh they are perfect for this kind of seam.

 

The internal part of the headpiece can be of two shapes. This curved edge is seen in both linen and silk versions but I haven’t seen it with the flat cap as well. Only with a fairly pointed piece to put a jeweled strip over.

 

Sorry for the use of English terms. I don’t want to use terms that come from the area as I’m not convinced we have them correct. All the terms at this point are in a bit of fluidity. i think I’m getting closer and will do a proper run through very soon.

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my pink cleves gown and some inspiration behind it

From Facebook: Emily Gibbs‎ to Canterbury Faire 2018, 29 January at 19:58 · Kaikoura Suburban, New Zealand

I am so inordinately happy with this! It has everything I love about the Cranach Saxon style with the weirdness of everything in the Nordrein (North Rhine.)

But it is weird. I’ll break down all the weirdness as I go but of note is the tone on tone. I deviated a little from the original, or rather combined two (three) figures in one. So the pink ground of two and the crimson velvet borders of another.

But tone on tone is very definitely part of this region, especially in the red/pink tones. And especially as velvet on a flat fabric.


Bildnis einer Frau 
Zuordnung:kölnisch
Datierung:um 1555/1560Sachbegriff:Gemälde
Sammlung:Köln, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Sammlungskontext: Stiftung Dr. Hubert Dormagen / Kerp, Inventar-Nr. WRM 3300, Zugang: 1980.12.31, Dauer: ab 1980.12.31

KostĂĽme der Männer und Frauen in Augsburg und NĂĽrnberg, Deutschland, Europa, Orient und Afrika – BSB Cod.icon. 341
Publishing place: Augsburg
Year published: 4. Viertel 16. Jh.
Pages: 384
BSB Call Nr.: Cod.icon. 341
Project ID: BSB-Hss Cod.icon. 341
URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00011752-7

Thuringen, I am not sure, Cologne (see what I mean by variations of spelling!)

So this is just one manuscript, and the Cologne image might be shot gold and red, but it is from the period. this is a hand drawn costume book, so little concern about it being coloured in at a later date. This work is full of pink as a main fabric. Full. But I am specifically looking for the tone on tone elements.

The Triumph of Maximillian is another illustrated book full of pink. But here again I have limited to tone on tone in red/crimson.

 

Title Triunfo del Emperador Maximiliano I, Rey de HungrĂ­a, Dalmacia y Croacia, Archiduque de Austria :… de quien están descritas y colocadas en esta colecciĂłn las acciones gloriosas de S.M. Imperial, durante su vida…
Date entre 1501 y 1700?

Edition S.XVI-XVII Type Manuscrito

Subject Maximiliano I, Emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico

Page 96 and 97 and 97 again.

(these are huge zoomable images)

 

 

 

(Royalty Guide and Wikicommons respectively)

Sophia von Mecklenberg, married the Duke of Brauchweig, part of estphalia and so also has the mix of influences.I did not know of this image until today, however I am familiar with the two pieces of stonework depicting her in a very similar dress- I had it set aside as research for the sleeves, this confirms that the sleeves are weird, hooray! She was buried in Cell an

But the colours are nearly identical to my frock 🙂 So that is exciting. I was working with a limited range of fabric.

I knwe of her through the following images from Bildindex (handy hint, grabmal is a great search term for looking for images

 

Grabplatte der Herzogin Sophia von Mecklenburg
nach 1541 Grabplatte, Grabskulptur,  Sandstein

Standort: Celle, Kirche, Evangelisch-lutherische Stadtkirche Sankt Marien, Chor

Gedächtnis: Sophia (Mecklenburg, Herzogin) Herzogin Sophia von Mecklenburg war die Gemahlin Ernst des Bekenners

Also a full 3d view

  

Epitaph des Herzogs Ernst des Bekenners und seiner Frau Sophia, Herzogin von Mecklenburg
Cornelis Floris (2) (Werkstatt) 1576 Epitaph, Grabskulptur Alabaster

Standort: Celle, Kirche, Evangelisch-lutherische Stadtkirche Sankt Marien, Chor (Nordwand)

Gedächtnis: Ernst (Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Herzog) Gedächtnis: Sophia (Mecklenburg, Herzogin)

So side track aside there are many more examples of red based tone on tone garments of the wider region.

 
Both by Noclas Neufchatel.

Brady hart Gallery and wikicommons and liveinternet respectively.

These are of course from Nuremberg and so are quite a distance, but we see the range of tones for tone on tone (also the red dyed braids!!!)

 

1516 Circle of Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) Portrait of Dorothea Meyer, wife of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen (Basel)

From Barbara Wells Sarudy’s post about winter clothing

Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden GmbH 2017 

Christoph Amberger
(Um 1505 NĂĽrnberg – 1561/62 Augsburg) attr.;
Portrait der Maria Hieronymus Sulzer

This is much more suble, and leaning towards the crimson on yellow seen at about the same rate.

 

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saxon maybe

I was going through my folder of illustrations and I am not sure if this is an illustraition or wall painting. It certainly has the qualities of translucency seen in illustrations.

But I would dearly love to see a group do this. I have a love of the black check border- some more examples in etchings that I know of as well as the girl with triangular decorations on her cuffs. But really. I just think this looks like a group from the old h-cost/lj days.

I’ve been sharing to IG today some of my older photos. You can sort of edit images in Chrome if you “inspect” choose one oft he mobile devices, refresh, and upload. Editing button is on the right and allows you to zoom centrally or full width and you can move the image, or full height. I have “inspect” set to Nexus 6 right now.

 

Anyway. So I realised how long it has been since I started down this Westfalen route. I moved into 1560s Koeln due to the ability to basically copy straight from the de Bruyn book. Since then I have enough courage to create my own garment without copying directly from an era where I’m mainly working with allegorical paintings and text. So that is really cool. But yeah, the de Bruyn book is literally able to be copied line for line for the Dutch-German areas. I mean it’s so accurate as to be something I’d point people to and say trust your gut because this artist knows what he is looking at.

 

But also while sharing I’ve decided to say Fork It. I love pink. And I love blue. I’m going to let myself wear both. So my current frock of frockness is raspberry on baby pink and I have accessories to match. So a book has been recovered and my pin book now has a cover. Woot! But next I need to decide on how to handle carrying my items around. So I think I’ll grab some more of the velveteen and add another border to my dress and use the excess for a hat and for a scrip bag.

 

A single layer of black wool twill (super fine, not a gabardine and not quite a satin) for my heuke.

This is the kind I need to make. I think the weird shape is pleated. Think of a paper plane and I think that is pretty close to what is going on.

This is what only Koeln used. So annoying as it’s perfect for shade and rain protection. Also it just is super out there.

Duerer’s drawing shows a half circle with a half circle cut out, but that is an actual dutch style. I think the half circle cut out is gathered to the duckbill shape seen further west. So time to dig a bit deeper for what was going on in the Duchy of Cleves because I believe de Bruyn on this point. Heuken were very much shaped by regional preference.

 

Also this portrait was what really got my inspiration for my first Nordrein gown in 2004, but this is also tone on tone, and, and, red velvet is everywhere in inventories. I men every where. Mainly for sleeves and bust decoration. This tone on tone thing though? I love. So that’s why I was okay when the store had no black velveteen and only raspberry.

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so pink and crimson works

Yesterday was a bad luck day. It started with a health wobble (very old one, and it was definitely a whole lot better than it used to be) Mr Carlo going missing, rain, pale mamma duck lost one more duckling, I couldn’t find the glass jars I know one of the cheapie stores in Westfield or outer shops has, then my rheumy appointment was cancelled as I was already out there and finally Spotlight did not have any black velveteen which is what I wanted my pink Cleves gown trimmed in.

But they had a very dark maroon-crimson which actually I really do dig as a tone on tone type of deal. The colour and texture is definitely found in inventories- mainly as sleeves- and also in some illustrations. So I really only am unsure if that specific combo is okay. But the Duchy of Kleves, Julich, und Berg was much brighter and more in the Saxon mold than Cologne which was a free city and thus did not have any aristocracy and so portraits tend to show much more sober colour schemes. But I have seen a sort of lilac, lots of warm and cool red, and even a yellow gown on figures representing real people. Religious figures then to have much more

It also ended in Mr Carlo rushed to the vets as he was dealing with septicemia. He is a tiny kitty, about half the weight of any other cat I have met. So he is more delicate than he thinks and injuries are a lot harder on him.

 

Today we were hit harder by the storm and pale mamma lost all her babies in the wind. But she has just brought them around again a few hours later. Mr Carlo is a lot happier, he is liking pats and even tummy scritches. So today is much better.

I even finally scanned my passport photos and finished my online application so that is great.

Also Mr Ginger Fluff is sheltering on my bed from the storm. He is finally starting to properly rest.

 

So I feel okay about sitting and sewing today.  It’s been a slow morning for the above reasons but it’s still productive.

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more clevische kleidung

Today I got my lining put together and pinned into the pink Cleves skirt, reshaped my hulle and steamed it into a nice curve (yep, millinery, so much steam and pressing and more steam and the stink of ammonia, and lanolin, and and more steam.) I have set it aside so I can make another pressing shape as my wulsts are really squishy.

And I did manage to tidy some of my inventory files. It’s still heavy on accessories other than hats and garments other than gowns. Which are you know, the most important part.

But I may also have a lead on looking for secondary texts. Gewand is used a fair amount so I’ve been brute force searching.

Meanwhile I do need to actually put those files in their proper places and transcribe them.

 

Of course the very best files are photos of documents but they are not of a resolution that I can read them. Which is annoying.

 

But, that is a lot of ironing of line lining and wool hat so… i’ll get that put away and get the files in place.

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more gear from mina

(Mina is the shortform of my SCA name and tends to be used just as a nickname for me- I like it 🙂 )

I just grabbed a set of a knife and fork from Trademe- mother of pearl handles, silver decorative join to the functional end. Not suse the content of the functional end.

They are really lovely, and fit what I wanted 🙂

I want to make a case for them. So it means having them in hand sooner rather than later 🙂 I am not entirely sure how they are made but I have a few options to work with.

So, why a knife and fork? Aren’t forks out of era. Nope.

My favourite set ever is Italian and is made with rock crystal.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O112430/cutlery-set-unknown/

It seems to have been redesignated later than 16thC but there are similar that are earlier.

http://gyujtemeny.imm.hu/gyujtemeny/kes/1434?i=1377

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wien_Schatzkammer_Deutscher_Orden_-_Essbesteck.jpg

So I originally tried to find modern cutlery I could adapt, but Most just cannot- I need each end to unscrew and have a core to thread crystal on to.. So a look around at further designs:

 

All from Bildindex, info in photos. All 16-17thC and across the states.

So my theory is that we don’t just see sets of knives in the Trachtenbucher but possibly knife and fork sets.

Mostly the forks are long tined. I personally do not want to run the risk of poking myself in the face with them so I am fine with a smaller tine set further to the end. In the first image there is a case that may be associated witht he matching set.

But now for the cases:

https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj05227007 https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj05227006

These could well be wedding knife sets. There don’t seem to be a top end to the cases. And they seem to be silver.

These do appear to match the sets worn in the trachtenbuch.

These are from Weigel’s book https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Frauen-Trachtenbuch_(1586)

https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj00290368  and https://www.bildindex.de/document/obj00290368

These are from de Bruyn.

These appear on both unmarried and married women, so I think these are a status symbol- I found single knives in cases on working women though.

So, any evidence that these are knives and forks:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/210073?rpp=60&pg=1&rndkey=20140327&ao=on&ft=*&where=Europe&what=Knives&pos=38

This is later, but the case and cutlery are a match.

And

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=1477461001&objectId=35872&partId=1

c1600.

Yes! I can make a case like this from the scraps of heavy russet I have. I think I’ll need to learn some techniques from shoemaking as I’ll want really crisp edges. But I’ll be able to embroider the case 🙂 or… I still have diamon shaped brass stampings I used for my Valois ouches set. They could be shaped to fit.

Anyway. Yay! Now I need to find a matching spoon to carry in my purse 🙂

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another wrinkle sorted

I have been trying to work out a way to have fancy chemise sleeves as per my Cleves dress and just was getting very lost. Until I remembered that I already have the solution. pins!

This is my c1560s woolen Cologne gown. This is taken pretty much from the de Bruyn Trachtenbuch. So the skirt overlaps at the front to allow it to be worn open or closed. The sleeves are half length with matching hanging sleeves. The sleeves are actually half length and then matching hanging sleeves pinned on.

This is not totally interpretive. Hanging sleeves are listed separately in inventories and it is possible to see the pins in the woodcuts.

(A. de Bruyn, citizens from Cleves.)

Okay so they look more like thumbtacks here, on the far left, but that curvy line is also seen in obviously pinned on fitted sleeves (also found in inventories.)

Note also the watered silk lining on the far left. And what is a likely glossy lining on the far right. Note the turn backs of the sleeves and skirt. And the short sleeves over fitted sleeves. This is a fantastically modular wardrobe,

(A. de Bruyn, citizens of Cologne)

So you can see my wool gown is much more Colone in style but uses the Cleves plate for the pins information. I think other plates show pins used horizontally, which is how I use mine.)

The sleeves for my earlier Cleves dress are probably held on in a similar way. I’m assembling my current cache of images and documents to see if it does have support not just makes sense. It is also helping me figure out how to use my decorative under sleeves as well. No one puts brocade or heavy embroidery on something direct to the skin or part of a washing chemise.

So, very excited, I’ll be able to make more sets of hanging and under sleeves for my earlier dresses which makes them possible to be worn for a week long event.

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