A closer look at the embroidery on the small motifs in the hunting scene on the Bacton Altar Cloth Across the middle of the Cloth, there appears to be a scene taking place which was the height of aristocratic pursuits during the medieval and Early modern period – the Hunt. The scene includes a number of different animals, including quarry and hounds, and a huntsman. The Bacton Altar Cloth was embroidered before the documentation of techniques or the definition of
Through previous research I knew about the embroidered treasure of St Faith’s, but I had not yet had an opportunity to travel to Bacton. As soon as I knew the altar cloth had been moved to Hampton Court Palace for conservation, I just had to have a close-up look. In October 2018, I was granted access to the cloth to take images for study. I was not prepared for what I saw. As one who has spent quite some
Techniques of the Ancient Masters Although we can’t be positive, we think the embroiderers who made the Bacton Altar Cloth method used to transfer the botanical designs was a time honoured prick and pounce technique. This method was employed by Italian masters such as Raphael and Michelangelo to transfer their large design drawings, known as cartoons. Pricking the Cartoon For our experiment, I drew a small motif based on the sprig of Marigold from the Bacton Altar Cloth. Placing it on