Parergon

In this book, based on her doctoral research, Alexandra Lester-Makin analyses the entire known corpus of early medieval British and Irish embroidery, a task made no less daunting by the fact that this amounts to a total of forty-three pieces. These range from the famed and monumental Bayeux Tapestry to tiny scraps preserved in archaeological contexts, and those examples where the form of the embroidery can only be deduced from impressions in corroded metal. More substantial works discussed include the Maaseik embroideries, those associated with St Cuthbert’s tomb in Durham Cathedral, and the Worcester fragments, as well as the relatively recent Llan-gors find.

The paucity of the extant record can be attributed to the inherent fragility of textiles. Lester-Makin’s first chapter provides a detailed examination of the problems associated with her data set, and includes an informative discussion on the ways that different textile fibres are preserved in specific physical contexts. It becomes clear that these few extant embroideries represent remarkable survivals, whether because of the accidents of soil composition or other physical contexts, or by virtue of their association with saints or other important people.

Yet even some of the most apparently unprepossessing fragments can yield a wealth of information in the hands of an appropriately skilled and attentive investigator. One of this book’s great strengths is its methodology. Lester-Makin is both an archaeologist and an embroiderer, having completed an apprenticeship with the Royal School of Needlework. Her book makes a compelling case for the benefits of experiential learning in the analysis of historical material culture; together with microscopy and high-resolution photography, her detailed examination of the embroideries is informed by her technical knowledge and by stitching experimental samples. As a result, she has been able to identify stitch techniques and reconstruct the order in which pieces have been worked, allowing her to revise and expand upon the work of previous scholars.

Lester-Makin’s use of ‘Object Biography Theory’ proves it to be an effective tool for considering these early medieval embroideries. Importantly, her approach follows the work of Cornelius Holtorf in arguing that the biography of objects should not stop at their archaeological deposition but must also chronicle their life after rediscovery, including the ways that they have been interpreted, conserved, and displayed in subsequent eras. Lester-Makin makes the point that ‘The [End Page 265] fragments that researchers see today are not what people saw—either literally or metaphorically—at the time they were made, used, recycled or deposited’ (p. 27). The benefits of this theoretical approach are demonstrated by a detailed analysis of the Kempton embroidery, a small fragment of embroidery originally contained in a copper alloy box, which was rediscovered in a nineteenth-century excavation, now separated from its container, and stored under a Perspex screen in the British Museum.

Lester-Makin attempts to give an overview of her corpus based on her detailed analysis of the materials, techniques, colour, and preservation circumstances of each piece. As she admits, however, the sparseness of the record and the accidents of survival limit the reliability of the conclusions that can be drawn from this data. For example, the absence of a particular stitch type in the record for a given century should not be understood to mean that it was not practised in this period. The overview also highlights a problem with the title of the book—not all the embroideries that form its subject can reasonably be understood as ‘Anglo-Saxon’ (even aside from issues concerning the accuracy or appropriateness of that term). Including embroideries from Viking Age Dublin, ninth- or tenth-century Wales, and Iron Age Orkney undermines any sense of a distinctive cultural style. A stronger argument also needed to be made for the inclusion of the...