Wednesday, June 14, 2017

The Tale of Two Howards

nota bene: Please excuse the varying sizes and quality of the images that illustrate this post.  The photographs originate from two different sources and I do not possess adequate knowledge to unify their size.  Also, the two embroidery pieces featured have been photographed under glass which presents a further challenge.


One of the most rewarding and pleasurable aspects of being the author of Chronica Domus is the wonderful comments received in response to the posts I publish.  There are emails too, which often land in my box from readers that have stumbled across a post and wish to share further information about a topic or an item I have written about but don't necessarily wish to leave a comment.  One such email, received recently, aroused such excitement in our household that I thought I would share it with you too.  Here is what it said:

"Good evening, I was intrigued by your picture posted on your blog.  Please take a look at the attachments of an almost identical picture which I have.  Very strange!  Thank you.  Julie Archer".

For a split second, I hesitated clicking on the email's attachments.  Nowadays, one never quite knows what malicious viruses or internet nasties may be lurking.  However, I could see from the miniscule thumbnail pictures at the end of the note that whatever it was that Ms. Archer was sharing with me would be something rather extraordinary.  I was not disappointed.  Rendering me speechless - a rare moment I can assure you - I was confronted with an almost identical mourning embroidery to the one I featured in my post titled Mourning Howard, back in February 2014, which you can read, here.

Chronica Domus
Here is the young lady featured in Ms. Archer's mourning embroidery - she bares a striking resemblance to the one depicted in my own mourning embroidery seen below 
Photo: Courtesy of Ms. Julie Archer


Chronica Domus
These two mournful young ladies must surely be related!
Photo: Chronica Domus


As you can imagine, I was thrilled that Ms. Archer wrote to share her mourning embroidery with me. Having just acquired it recently at a small auction house in the north of England, Ms. Archer knew nothing of the artwork's provenance or who had consigned it to auction.  A quick internet search led her to the images of my own mourning embroidery, purchased in London some fifteen years prior. Having noticed the striking similarities in the scene depicted, the workmanship of the stitching and painted vellum head, hands, and 'HOWARD' lettering upon the tomb, Ms. Archer was compelled to contact me.  Surely, our Georgian girls must be related!

It turns out that Ms. Archer has a particular interest in historical textiles.  She holds a Textile Design degree from Leeds University and has taught both art and art history.  She is as curious as I am to learn more about the artist, or artists, of both of our embroidery works.  In due course, Ms. Archer intends on taking her picture to the university's textile department to see if they are able to shed some light on the piece's construction and origin.

What is known about such embroidery works is that during the late-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, privileged young girls of the leisured and upper classes were expected to master needlework skills.  Most of them, or at least those that had any pretense to taste and refinement, dabbled in these "satin sketches".  Designs were typically drawn on silk, then embroidered using a variety of stitches, neatly showcasing the young girl's abilities.  Small features were cut from vellum and painted using watercolor paints or inks, a characteristic often seen in such late-eighteenth century embroidery pictures. 

Ms. Archer posits that perhaps both of our girls were stitched by sisters, or that the piece in her possession was a prototype of my own, a sort of "practice run". We might, of course, never learn the truth behind these theories but we both agree on one thing, our girls surely began life together.  

Fortunately, my mourning embroidery has been signed upon its wooden backboard by the young artist, Sophia Haine.  Sophia named her work 'Philanthropy at The Tomb of Howard', and dated it December 15th, 1797, the day the embroidery was completed.  Alas, Ms. Archer's piece is not visibly signed.  Does a clue await discovery, I wonder, if the embroidery is removed from its original verre églomisé mat and giltwood frame?

Chronica Domus
Ms. Archer's artwork is devoid of color and almost sepia or grisaille in tone, making it all the more appealing to my eye
Photo: Courtesy of Ms. Julie Archer


Chronica Domus
Blue, green, and brown threads and watercolor paints or inks add subtle color to my embroidery picture
Photo: Chronica Domus


Ms. Archer's initial research efforts have yielded two late-eighteenth century parish records for Sophia Haine.  The first Sophia was registered in Shipham parish and was born in Lympsham, Somerset in the year 1782.  She would have been around fifteen years of age when my mourning picture was completed.  The second Sophia Haine, daughter of Samuel and Maria Haine, was born in 1783, and resided in Lambeth, Surrey, an area now considered part of London. This Sophia would have been around fourteen years of age in 1797.   

Chronica Domus
My mourning embroidery which hangs in our drawing room is titled 'Mourning Howard' and signed and dated by the artist Sophia Haine, December 15th, 1797
Photo: Chronica Domus


Chronica Domus
Ms. Archer's unsigned, but surely related, 'Mourning Howard' embroidery picture is almost identical to my own, down to the faithfully executed fence and background trees seen at right
Photo: Courtesy of Ms. Julie Archer


Ms. Archer will, of course, continue to dig deeper into the mystery of who stitched her mourning embroidery picture and if it is connected to my own.  She has promised to report back with updates and is even prepared to undertake her own Magical Mystery Tour, all in the name of research.  A van and tent, she tells me, are at her disposal in case long-distance travel is called for. 

Thank you, Ms. Julie Archer, for reaching out and making me aware of the existence of your beautiful mourning embroidery.  I look forward to learning more about its history and what the connection to my own piece is. Who knows, we may even get an opportunity of reuniting our girls after two centuries of separation.

To be continued... one hopes!

22 comments:

  1. Utterly fascinating! It is something Philip Mould would have done on his show. I would love to know if you both get any updates on it - an antique mourning doppelgänger!

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    Replies
    1. Hello Naomi,

      I don't know who Mr. Mould is but get him on the case, and sharpish!

      I'm hopeful that Detective Archer will indeed succeed in her mission of unearthing more around this fascinating mourning doppelgänger. Please, stay tuned...

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    2. You have to look up his shows - you'd absolutely love them CD! They're called Fake or Fortune.

      Such a fascinating thing to have two examples of the same scene. I hope you're able to dig deeper and unearth the secrets to this little mystery. x

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    3. Thank you, Heidi, appreciate the pointer. YouTube to the rescue! I have one lined up for this evening's entertainment.

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  2. Hello CD,

    What a remarkable development this discovery is. It pays to write about unusual antiques and get the images out there because one cannot even imagine what information or parallel examples others may hold. Between these two memorial embroideries there is a real opportunity for research--the most important reason why I collect things.
    --Jim

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    Replies
    1. Hello Jim,

      This really is an exciting discovery, especially as these pieces were crafted by hand and not in any way mass produced. I suppose they are a little like American quilts.

      I eagerly await news of Ms. Archer's research as I've a strong hunch our pieces started life together.

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  3. The sisters theory sounds plausible. And it is interesting to note that the two figures have different colored hair, one dark, the other light brown or red. Also, the waistbands on the dresses seem different, as do the sleeves.

    A fascinating story indeed! Thank you for sharing it.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Diogenes,

      Although there are a few details that differ, overall I think there are more similarities than not. Either the same hand made both, or a mother made one while teaching her daughter, or sisters embroidered them. The plinths and urns are almost identical. Shall we ever know the truth behind these pieces? I very much hope so.

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  4. My Dear CD,
    Perhaps a Crafty Old Pro's perspective might be helpful. GSL suspects Ms Archer's van and tent should be directed towards a scholar/ repository of late 18th Century prints
    with subject matter not of Hogarth's satire but genteel domestic life and likely at a penny a sheet finding its way into many a fashionable drawing room whereupon young girls of refinement and resouce might stencil/trace onto silk or linen and then embroider into the near identical scenes we see here.

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    Replies
    1. Hello GSL,

      I've seen a fair number of these mourning embroidery works but none that resemble my Howard piece as closely as Ms. Archers does. Fingers crossed that more detail comes to light as to their provenance.

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    2. My theory could be quickly eliminated if the figures of the young lady were not exactly the same size.

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    3. Hmmm... I never thought of a stencil/pattern before but you could be right if I only knew the dimensions of Ms. Archer's girl. Thanks for that.

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  5. What an absolutely intriguing search! The odds of such serendipitous reunion are boggly, are they not?

    Such painstaking work, in the day when "leisure pursuits for ladies" consisted of dainty-work, china painting, and carrying of calf's foot jelly made by hands not their own, to the less fortunate, is still a mind-bending process. Just those long hours at the embroidery frame or easel, with back never touching the fragile settee---just finding conversation with the same old fellow stitchers day after day, candlelight after-dinner time slowing the process---I cannot imagine such dedication to intricacy.

    I'm simply enchanted by your mystery, and am, as Fanny Dashwood so often put it, "convinced within myself" that they are twins. I was about to ask if they might have been a pattern, to which an appropriate name might be affixed, but I see that my dear GSL has proposed just such a theory, as well.

    The idea that their tresses might have been embroidered with the actual hair of artist or deceased also occurs, spurred by the prevalence of such mourning jewelry, or that exchanged between sweethearts. . .

    Looking forward to other chapters of this charming long-ago mystery.

    Hope you've been well and are enjoying this lovely Spring!

    rachel

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    Replies
    1. My Dear Rachel,
      GSL yearns for the high honor of enjoying the charming company of you and Madame CD over tea and calf's foot jelly.

      Delete
    2. Hello racheld,

      A new word for me, 'boggly'. What does it mean, pray tell?

      Unlike the hair mourning art I've featured in various posts of this blog, this mourning embroidery is simply that, embroidery. No human hair in sight. The pattern theory is an interesting one though and if that were the case I would think that perhaps a pattern for the plinth and urn might have been used as they are almost identical. However, generally, these embroidery works did not follow any set pattern, other than the inclusion of certain mourning symbolism (such as a broken branch of a tree, an urn/plinth, forlorn mourner etc.).

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    3. Dearest GSL,

      Sharing a cuppa with the esteemed racheld and GSL is one thing, but I'll skip the calf's foot jelly thank you very much! You can have my portion though.

      Delete
  6. CD I wholeheartedly agree with you that responses such as the one you received from Ms Archer, make blogging such a fulfilling exercise. During my currently dormant picture collecting phase, I relied a lot on my own initiative, and although much lacking in the skills of Philip Mould and Bendor Grosvenor from "Fake or Fortune", I was able to unearth a hugely valuable piece of information about a John Hoppner portrait which I bought in America, and sold at Sotheby's in London a couple of years ago. Similarly a China Trade watercolour, which was bought in America and incorrectly attributed to the famed George Chinnery. This turned out to be incorrect, but I was not easily put off, and through my own research, found that it was painted by a one time pupil, (and subsequently a rival) of Chinnery, and as it was a rare subject matter, (the first establishment of British settlement in Hong Kong in 1841), and it was correctly designated to Marciano Baptista, it sold exceedingly well at auction at Christie's in London.

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    Replies
    1. Hello columnist,

      Oh, yes, I do recall reading and enjoying your blog posts on the research you did to uncover the true identity to your art pieces, and the success of your sale.

      The internet has indeed made amateur detectives of us all, which can only be a good thing in my opinion. It is akin to having access to the most comprehensive library in the world, and writing a blog has only enhanced that experience, especially if you consider the story of this post. I am so pleased to have made contact with Ms. Archer.

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  7. The similarities are intriguing and hope you get to the bottom of this mystery. Speaking of mysteries, I ran across an interesting mystery novel by Sarah Stewart Taylor called Mansions of the Dead. Perhaps you know of her work? The protagonist, Sweeney St. George, is an art professor and an expert on mourning jewelry. The murder victim happens to be one of Prof. St. George's students and is found with mourning jewelry on his body. It makes for entertaining reading on a rainy afternoon.

    Best,
    KL Gaylin
    Rly

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    Replies
    1. Hello KL Gaylin,

      I've not heard of Sarah Stewart Taylor or her novel Mansions of the Dead. I can see that it might make for an interesting read, thank you. However, it will be a long time before we see another rainy afternoon around these parts I'm afraid. I'll have to wait until at least November if rain is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of this book.

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  8. My father owns a couple of mourning pieces. I seem to remember that these look so similar because they were copied from a sketch or something made available to multiple young women to copy? No?

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    Replies
    1. Hello Lisa,

      I'd dearly love a gander at your father's mourning pieces. I imagine they depict the typical mourning symbols which might account for their similarities. However, from the many mourning embroideries I have seen, I can tell you that Ms. Archer's piece and my own look to have been separated at birth.

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