Opus Anglicanum
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[[Nativity]]→[[Nativity of Jesus in art]] in the holy name of [[WP:DPL|WikiProject Disambiguation]] using [[WP:POP|Popups]]
[[Image:Embroidered bookbinding 13th century Annunciation.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Embroidered bookbinding for the Felbrigge Psalter in couched gold thread and split stitch, likely worked by Anne de Felbrigge, a nun in the convent of Minoresses at Bruisyard, Suffolk, during the latter half of the fourteenth century.<ref>Davenport, Cyril, ''English Embroidered Bookbindings'', edited by Alfred Pollard, London, 1899</ref>]]
'''Opus Anglicanum''' or ''English work'' is a contemporary term for fine [[needlework]] of [[Medieval England]] done for ecclesiastical or secular use on [[clothing]], hangings or other [[textiles]], primarily by [[nun]]s and then by laywomen in workshops. Most surviving examples were for church use. These exquisite and expensive [[embroidery]] pieces were often [[cope]]s but could be other types of church furnishings and [[vestment]]s. They were usually [[embroidery|embroidered]] on [[linen]] or, later, [[velvet]], in [[Backstitch|split stitch]] and [[couching (embroidery)|couching]] with [[silk]] and [[gold]] or [[goldwork (embroidery)|silver-gilt thread]].<ref>Levey, S. M. and D. King, ''The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750'', Victoria and Albert Museum, 1993, ISBN 1851771263</ref>
English needlework had become famous across Europe during the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] period. A Papal inventory in Rome, from the 13th century, lists over 200 pieces, and a request by a Pope of the period for religious houses to send more is reported indignantly by the Benedictine [[chronicle]]r [[Matthew Paris]] of [[St Albans]].
One particularly fine example is the ''The Adoration of the Magi'' [[chasuble]] from c.[[1325]] in red velvet embroidered in gold thread and pearls at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[New York]]. It depicts a [[Nativity of Jesus in art|nativity]] scene with emphasis on decorative motifs, flowers, animals, birds, beasts, and angels.
Few surviving secular examples exist.
==Notes==
<references />
==External links==
*[http://medieval.webcon.net.au/technique_opus_anglicanum.html Opus Anglicanum at Historical Needlework]
*[http://www.sca.org.au/st_florians/artisan/embroidery/opus.htm Opus Anglicanum: English Work, or How to Paint With a Needle]
*[http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1220_gothic/embroidery.php Medieval English embroidery] at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] website
*[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/euwb/ho_27.162.1.htm Chasuble in Opus Anglicanum, Metropolitan Museum of Art]
==References==
*Davenport, Cyril, ''English Embroidered Bookbindings'' ,edited by Alfred Pollard, London, 1899 ({{gutenberg|name=English Embroidered Bookbindings|no=17585}})
*Levey, S. M. and D. King, ''The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750'', Victoria and Albert Museum, 1993, ISBN 1851771263
===Further reading===
*King, Donald: ''Opus Anglicanum: English Medieval Embroidery'', London: The Curwen Press, 1963.
*Christie, A.G.H.: ''English Medieval Embroidery'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1938
[[Category:Christian art]]
[[Category:Embroidery]]
[[Category:English art]]
{{embroidery}}