Pattern Work and the Medieval Mediterranean

Ilustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi Church, Italy, 13th century.

The decorative pattern work reproduced in these illustrations, although technically decorative and hand painted, mostly originate from the fine art wall painting produced within the church of San Francesco d'Assisi in the thirteenth century.

They were reproduced in book form in the nineteenth century and were meant to give both a scholarly and practical guide to interested parties, whether they be historian or designer. Therefore, they are not photographs of decoration seen in the interior of the church, but more a case of idealised decoration without the patina of age, something the Victorians were particularly keen to emphasise, pattern in its original pristine setting. Interestingly, today we tend to prefer the authenticity and localised history of decorative work, including all of the accidents and history of the aging process, which to us gives it a more tangible connection with past generations.

Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.

Much of the decorative work shown here was derived from the backgrounds of religious paintings by such masters as Cimabue and Giotto. As 'filler' they might have been seen by many as superficial and lacking in interest. However, to the decorative artist, scholar or crafts person they were and are still considered a useful inspirational tool for new contemporary decoration and pattern work. Perhaps more importantly they can also be seen as being part of the vital element in the history of the vocabulary of the decorative arts in Europe, particularly when considering the geographical and cultural position of Italy, between that of Northern Europe and Islam and in a central position between the western and eastern Mediterranean.

Although showing no obvious outward signs of Islamic influence, there is for example no calligraphic Arabic script that was often loosely translated in Europe into meaningless decorative pattern work rather than as was intended in the original text. The geometrical and regular pattern work, along with the interactive and interdependent nature of the work, is still identifiable as being strongly linked with North African textile and ceramic work which was such a feature of the local culture and became part of the indigenous decorative work of both Sicily and Southern Italy, both areas of which were either occupied by Islamic forces, or were close partners in trade and culture.

Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.

It is perhaps wise to remember that the Mediterranean during the medieval period was by no means considered as a military, political, ideological or cultural barrier such as the old Iron Curtain between Western and Eastern Europe in the mid twentieth century for example. There was no real scenario regarding a situation whereby Islam occupied the south and Christianity the north, with a no-mans land in between. Nations, provinces and regions were interdependent, changed alliances rapidly irrespective of religion, and traded products and ideas often freely and rapidly. Therefore, the geometrical ideas and theories concerning Islamic decoration and general pattern work, would not necessarily have been seen in southern Europe at least, as any form of alien or oppressive cultural interference or intervention by outside forces, but more a case of interesting and speculative diversions in pattern work and craft from neighbouring settlements and communities.

Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.

In some respects, Europe and the Islamic world have more in common historically than perhaps they would at times wish to be known, and certainly, that is true as far as the decorative arts and architecture are concerned. The interaction on so many levels across the entire breadth of the Mediterranean built the foundations of a mixed culture that eventually engendered the Modern World. The Mediterranean, long a powerhouse of invention and dissemination of ideas in the ancient world, proved no different in the medieval world. Ironically and sadly, the Mediterranean today is often seen as a cultural divide with a huge chasm of institutionalised distrust and hostility generated between Europe in the north and North Africa to the south. Both sides of the cultural divide in many respects share the same cultural root, which is seen in much more than just the decorative arts. That the dissimilarities rather than the similarities are emphasised today, is a sad reflection of countless lost opportunities to build bridges across the Mediterranean in order to reconnect different sides of a vibrant, dynamic and creative Mediterranean culture.

Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.

However, the often complex and interconnected history of the decorative arts of both Europe and North Africa can still inspire and intrigue, and although other avenues may well be closed between the two regions, the decorative arts should always be a means of overcoming bigotry and institutionalised superiority. Artists, designers and craft makers should relish the attraction and intrigue of the pattern irrespective of the cultural or geographical origin. Pattern is King!

Further reading links:
Islamic Decoration and Ornament
The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe (Islamic Surveys)
God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215
Europe and Islam (Making of Europe)
Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World
Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Perception of Other
A History of Medieval Islam
The Muslims of Medieval Italy (New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys)
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
In the Light of Medieval Spain: Islam, the West, and the Relevance of the Past (New Middle Ages)
Islam and the Medieval West: Aspects of Intercultural Relations : Papers Presented at the Ninth Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Ear
The Muslim Discovery of Europe
Islam and Travel in the Middle Ages
Conflict and Coexistence: Archbishop Rodrigo and the Muslims and Jews of Medieval Spain (History, Languages, and Cultures of the Spanish and Portuguese Worlds)
Muslims in Medieval Italy: The Colony at Lucera

Sicilian Embroidery of the 12th Century

Illustration: Sicilian palmette embroidery border design, 12th century.

The Mediterranean island of Sicily, the sea's largest island, has a complex and multi-layered medieval history that connects the distinctive Greek, Tunisian, Egyptian, Norman and Southern Italian decorative cultures, as well as the religions of Greek Orthodox, Catholicism and Islam. That all these elements came together to form a fascinating yet complex woven multi-culture, can be seen through a number of examples of architecture and the decorative arts.

The three examples of embroidery work shown in this article were produced for Christian church vestments in the 12th century. They were all hand worked in Sicily and therefore are an excellent illustration of some of the factors that were used and incorporated into medieval Sicilian textile work.

Sicily has always had strong connections with the Eastern Mediterranean. It was at one point part of the larger Ancient Greek world, where a number of important colonies were founded including Syracuse. However, at the same time, there were also Phoenician colonies on the island and it was Sicily's geographical closeness to the North African coast that inevitably led to its unique cultural heritage. As well as being both a part of the Roman and then Byzantine Empire, it was also from the 9th century part of the Aghlabid Empire of North Africa and then that of the Fatimid of Egypt. It was invaded and occupied by the Normans in the late 11th century which abruptly brought an end to Islamic rule from North Africa.

Illustration: Sicilian griffin embroidered vestment design, 1181.

It was the combination of the Greek culture of Byzantium and the Fatimid rule from Egypt that seems to have flavoured the decorative arts of Sicily during the earlier medieval period. Although Islamic rule was to last barely a century, much less than that of Islamic Spain, cultural ideas and pattern work are easily identifiable on the textile pieces shown in this article.

The griffin motifed embroidery produced in 1181, long after direct Islamic rule of the island had ended, still includes Islamic calligraphy at the bottom of the piece. Admittedly, there are a number of examples in Sicily during this period and after, whereby the calligraphy has become garbled and lost its grammatical meaning. The calligraphy was being used as both an intrinsic pattern effect and as a means of raising the status and standard of a textile piece by connecting it with Islamic culture, which was often defined in medieval Europe with luxury and excellence in craftsmanship. The facing griffons were widespread in the Islamic world and are said to have derived from pre-Islamic Sassanid Persia and therefore can trace their history back into the ancient world.

The two other embroidery pieces which come in the form of borders for church vestments, take the traditional Greek palmette motif as their mainstay. The palmette could well have come directly from the strong Byzantine influence on the island which had been an integral province of the Byzantine Empire before the Islamic invasion, or could well have come to the island indirectly through the influence that Byzantine pattern work had on  the Islamic craft workers of Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Either way the palmette traces its history back to the ancient Greek and then Roman decorative arts.

Illustration: Sicilian palmette embroidery border design, 12th century.

Added to this complexity are the Normans who settled on the island in the later 11th century and influenced the textile craftsmanship of the island by importing Greek textile craft workers, mostly weavers and embroiderers, from mainland Greece to Sicily. These workers although not part of the islands decorative arts culture until the 12th century, no doubt still laid another layer of interpretation on the already multi-layered island, by producing work that was strongly influenced by Byzantine examples.

It was perhaps this unique combination of the excellent quality and craftsmanship of Greek and Islamic textile work that gave Sicily the reputation of high status textile hand crafted work that made its unique output sought and coveted across Europe.

Important, yet often geographical small regions such as Sicily which often lie between cultural, religious and politically divided areas of the world, are often seen as cultural crossovers or even crossroads. Small regions whereby large mutually divergent and often hostile cultural traditions come together to form a unique blending, producing yet another hybrid culture. Although many of these unique cultural points are by their very nature tenuous and fragile and therefore relatively brief and short lived when seen in the context of the long history of humanity, they still nonetheless are relatively tranquil and sane points in human turbulent history. They can often point future generations towards seeing a more rational and harmonious approach to divergent approaches to the decorative and cultural arts if nothing else. They show us perhaps that there is little that separates us and much that unifies us.

Reference links:
History of Islamic Sicily (Islamic Surveys)
Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Diwan (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)
Siculo-Norman Art: Islamic Culture in Medieval Sicily (Islamic Art in the Mediterranean)
History of Sicily, 800-1713: Medieval Sicily (Reprints Series)
The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily
Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)
The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)
Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History
Sicily: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories)
The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily
 Sicily: Culinary Crossroads (Italy's Food Culture)
Sicily: Nature, Culture and Traditions (Italy from Above)

Beccadelli Workshops and Lace

Illustration: Beccadelli Workshops. Crochet lace design.

Lace design in Italy has a long and prestigious history with many areas of the country having their own specific styles, procedures and cultural input that has made the craft an intrinsic part of the decorative arts in Italy.

As far as the European revival of crafts in the latter half of the nineteenth century is concerned, Italy was just as much involved in the revival as any other area of Europe. As far as lace was concerned, the traditional lace making areas of Italy were having to compete with foreign revivals, state interventions and aggressive marketing techniques. Of particular concern was Italy's immediate northern neighbour, the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

State intervention at both the subsidised support and education level allowed the empires traditional lace making craft to be restructured and placed on a much more aggressive market led platform. This, in theory at least, was meant to give lace production a much securer place in contemporary Europe and hopefully a distinctly secure future for a craft that had always been at the mercy of subtle changes in fashions and taste.

Illustration: Beccadelli Workshops. Crochet lace design.

Austria in particular, encouraged professional designers to take on the task of updating the repertoire of lace patterns that were available to both the retail trade and the general public. Therefore, particularly at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, a strong Art Nouveau theme became almost overpowering within Austrian contemporary lace. So much so that this form of lace style is often now associated with Austrian lace work of that particular period.

Italian contemporary lace of the same period tended to improvise and re-imagine the large lace vocabulary that the various Italian regions had at their disposal. Renaissance styles were particularly popular and although not necessarily as contemporary in feel as perhaps the Art Nouveau themed Austrian lace patterns, they proved an interesting and popular diversion from the overriding fashions of the day.

The three examples shown here were produced by the Beccadelli Workshops in Bologna sometime before the First World War. They are fine examples of crochet lace and although historically themed they do not necessarily take on the appearance of the pastiche. They are in fact decoratively superior to much of what was available in Europe at the time.

Illustration: Beccadelli Workshops. Crochet lace design.

The reintroduction of past styles does not always have to problematic and counter to the contemporary world that they find themselves in. Often the reintroduction can seem like a breath of fresh air, even giving a new perspective on cultural and decorative history with contemporary designers gaining inspiration and perspective from these past styles and patterns. Italy in fact became a source of fine period style decoration though without compromising its contemporary development or contribution to European art and design. Italy itself had a healthy, focused and enthusiastic attitude to Modernism, while still being able to balance its historical contribution to the European decorative arts.

While lace production has always had to struggle through difficult periods in its history with the craft often seemingly on an endless cycle of bust and boom, it is interesting the number of interventions it has had from some often high-level design teams. The period of the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, very possibly saw some of the most challenging and interesting art and design interventions within the history of the craft. Italy being no exception saw a fundamental re-evaluation of its place in the history of lace development along with its contribution to the contemporary world of the decorative arts and crafts.

Further reading links:
Italian Lace Designs: 243 Classic Examples (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Italian Laces and Embroideries
Carmela Testa Variety #1- Italian Cutwork & Filet Lace c.1921
Old Italian Lace
Old Italian Lace - Vol. II.
Carmela Testa Variety #2 - Italian Cutwork & Filet Lace c.1926
Les Dentelles Italiennes aux Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire (Italian Lace at the Royal Museums of Art and History)
Collingbourne's #12 c.1912 - Italian Crochet Laces & Other Accessories
Italian Cutwork and Filet Lace No. 1
1914 Filet Lace Chart Pack Italian Renaissance Style Long Insertion Finished design measures approximately 8" wide by 82" in length
1916 Filet Lace Chart Pack Italian Renaissance Style Rectangular Pillow Insertions

The Aemilia Ars Society

Illustration: Aemilia Ars Society. Needlepoint lace.

Lace making in Europe saw a great, if temporary renewal in its fortunes during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Various organizations and schools were set up across the continent and had varying degrees and rates of success. Many were linked to either government or aristocracy, or both. Much was done to restructure an old but often tired, derivative and unprofitable textile craft.

One of these organizations was the Aemilia Ars Society founded in Bologna in 1898. The society was founded with the help and support of such contemporary Italian creative individuals as Alfonso Rubbiani and Achille Casanova, in order to promote a new and vigorous craft tradition in the Emilia region of Italy. To some extent, it drew inspiration from the English Arts & Crafts model, though was entirely Italian in its makeup and cultural inspiration. Although the society itself was by no means limited to the revival of lace production in the region, it was in fact interested in revivals of metal, wood, embroidery and other crafts; it was the work with lace that is best remembered today.

Illustration: Aemilia Ars Society. Lace design.

Although much of the initial lace produced by the Society was based on past greatness, designs were taken from an old volume of lace designs owned by the Marchesi Nerio Malvezzi, this did not mean that new work was not attempted. Although lace work produced by Aemilia Ars was perhaps not as contemporary looking as that being designed further north in schools across the Austro Hungarian Empire, the lace produced in Bologna and eventually all over Italy was seen as being of a particularly high standard with a pedigree based on the history of Italian lace.

Illustration: Aemilia Ars Society. Drawn linen and lace design.

One of the main instigators for the renewed popularity of lace in Italy was the now famous international Milan Exhibition of 1906. At this venue, native lace making was given a particularly high profile. A whole room was dedicated to lace work from across Italy. It was exhibited very effectively against a pure white background with more than adequate and sensitive lighting. It was this exhibition space that helped to internationalise the new vibrancy and direction that had been found for one of the older traditions of Italian textile craft.

The problem, as always with such labour intensive crafts, was the lack of enthusiasm provided by any potential lace workers. There was little to inspire women to take up the craft as it had always been and still remained a tiring, time consuming and poorly paid occupation which often led to recurring health problems, particularly those involving eyesight. There were new and easier options for young women in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Italy, to make far easier money. On top of that was the changing emphasis on fashion, which saw a reduction of layers and decoration and a move to produce a much more minimal, trimmer and practical figure for women, devoid of lace.

Illustration: Aemilia Ars Society. Lace coverlet.

Although lace making has never truly died as a craft, it often appears as a less attractive textile craft option than perhaps it really is or should be. Although there are no real signs of a large scale revival in the fortunes of lace, it cannot be surmised that there never will be again.

Anyone interested in Italian lace in particular, might like to try the link to the Italian Needlework blog that can be found below in the Further reading links section, along with a variety of books on Italian lace that can be easily be found on Amazon.

Illustration: Aemilia Ars Society. Short curtain in needlepoint lace.

Further reading links:
Italian Needlework blog
Identification of Lace (Shire Library)
Italian Lace Designs: 243 Classic Examples (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Carmela Testa Variety #1- Italian Cutwork & Filet Lace c.1921
Old Italian Lace - Vol. I.
Old Italian Lace - Vol. II.
Italian Laces and Embroideries
Italian Cut Work and Filet Lace (Volume 2)
Carmela Testa Variety #2 - Italian Cutwork & Filet Lace c.1926
Collingbourne's #12 c.1912 - Italian Crochet Laces & Other Accessories
Carmela Testa Variety #3 - Italian Drawn Work & Antique Filet Lace c.1927
Italian Cutwork and Filet Lace No. 1
1914 Filet Lace Chart Pack Italian Renaissance Style Long Insertion Finished design measures approximately 8" wide by 82" in length
1916 Filet Lace Chart Pack Italian Renaissance Style Rectangular Pillow Insertions