Customer Reviews

English Embroidery in the Metropolitan Museum 1580-1700: 'Twixt Art and Nature (Published in Association with the Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture)

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Any catalog of this exhibition of 85 seldom-seen items from the Met's vast textile collection would be an essential addition to any collection of books about embroidery, but this is far more than a simple list of items. In addition to clear photographs and descriptions of each piece, there are six well-written essays which discuss such varied topics as the significance of specific Biblical episodes in the context of the English Civil War and the role of highly embroidered items in Jacobean society. The specific techniques which made possible the remarkable depth and textural complexity of these embroideries are revealed in a sequence of highly enlarged photographs which are simply breathtaking. Not to be missed!

If you are a history or stitch addict this book is for you. The history from 1500 - 1700 in these incredible pieces is worth the price besides the amazing pictures.
What a great book worth every penny. A must for stitcher a library!

This was an expensive book that I ummed and aahed about purchasing. But on receiving it, I could see what the fuss was all about. Many textiley, embroidery people are very visual people, and I was thrilled to see the quantity and quality of colour photos in this book. Some of them are very close-up so that you can see wonderful details in the embroidery. I still haven't actually read the text - but that's not why I bought it! The photos just enthrall me.

This exhibition presentation was very interesting. I am a needleworker and had hoped it would offer more by way of technique. It certainly had very good photographs and did feature a few stitches.

A friend had this book and recommended it to me. I looked at her book and decided it would be good for both the embroidery history in it, and inspiration to make my own embroidery project. For instance, there is a project bag in the book that would be practical today.

This book is very well written with excellent photos. If this is your bag this is a good book.