Exotic Bird and Flowers Stumpwork Embroidery
A 19th century stumpwork embroidery, enhanced with beadwork., depicting an exotic bird and flowers. in deep walnut frame with ebonized, gilded and faux grained reveals. Overall size 18.90 in. x 16.93 in.
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- Faux - A French word meaning "false", but when used in decorative arts, the intention is not to deceive, but to simulate the decorative effects of the more expensive material it is imitating. The term " faux bois" meaning "false wood" refers to a furniture item that has been decorated with a marked grain (woodgrain finish) to imitate a more expensive timber.
- Beadwork / Bead Work (in Embroidery and Needlework - Beadwork in embroidery is a type of embroidery that involves adding beads to fabric to create decorative designs. The beads can be sewn onto the fabric using a needle and thread, or they can be attached using a variety of other techniques, such as beading wire or bead crochet. Beadwork is often used in conjunction with other embroidery techniques, such as cross-stitch and appliqué.
Beadwork has been used for decorative purposes for thousands of years, and it has been fashionable in many different cultures and time periods. In Western fashion, beadwork was popular in the 19th century, during the Art Nouveau movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and continued to be fashionable through the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1960s and 1970s, beadwork experienced a resurgence in popularity. - Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
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