If early bindings in satin are rare, still rarer is the use of silk. One
example worked on white ribbed silk still remains that belonged to Queen
Elizabeth. It measures 4-3/4 by 2-3/4 inches, and in its time was no
doubt a very decorative and interesting piece of work, but it is now in
a very dilapidated state, largely due to improper repairing. The book
has actually been rebound in leather, and the old embroidered sides
stuck on. So it must be remembered that my illustration of it is
considerably restored. The design, alike on both sides, is all outlined
with gold cords and twists of different kinds and thicknesses, and the
colour is added in water-colours on the silk. In the centre is the royal
coat-of-arms within an oval garter ensigned with a royal crown, in the
adornment of which a few seed pearls are used, as they are also on the
ends of the garter.
Enclosing the coat-of-arms is an ornamental border of straight lines and
curves, worked with a thick gold twist, intertwined with graceful sprays
of double and single roses, outlined in gold and coloured red, with buds
and leaves. A few symmetrical arabesques, similarly outlined and
coloured, fill in some of the remaining spaces. The work on this book, a
_New Testament in Greek_, printed at Leyden in 1576, is like no other;
but the general idea of the design, rose-sprays cleverly intertwined, is
one that may be considered characteristic of the Elizabethan embroidered
books, as it frequently occurs on them. The use of water-colour with
embroidery is very rare, and it is never found on any but silk or satin
bindings, generally as an adjunct in support of coloured-silk work over
it, but in this single instance it is used alone.
_Seventeenth-Century Embroidered Books._
The books described hitherto have been specimens of rare early
instances, but in the seventeenth century there is a very large field to
choose from. Small books, mostly religious works, were bound in satin
from the beginning of the century until the time of the Commonwealth in
considerable numbers; so much so, in fact, that their value depends not
so much upon their designs or workmanship as upon their condition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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