Mountmellick Work[1]
This type of heavy white embroidery first originated in the town of Mountmellick in Ireland, hence its name.
Nestled at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, Mountmellick was once known as the little Manchester of Ireland due to the presence of a large and diverse industrial base, which included flax and cotton mills. Traces of Mountmellick’s rich heritage as a Quaker settlement remain in its Victorian and Georgian architecture and warm friendliness of the people. During the 19th Century this quiet residential town gave its name to the world renowned Victorian White on White embroidery called Mountmellick Work. The Museum has built up a treasure trove of old and contemporary pieces of this magnificent work. Heirlooms of bed coverlets, pillow shams, tablecloths and nightdress cases survive today in excellent condition which is evident in the items on display in the museum. This embroidery is unique as it is the only form of embroidery that can claim to be entirely Irish in origin and design.
It was apparently invented by 'a lady from the Society of Friends, who taught to the peasants there as a means for them to earn a living. There are no drawn or open spaces in the work. The pattern appears in low relief as a raised white design on the surface of the material with very little thread showing on the wrong side.
Mountmellick work was favoured for pillow shams and cushion covers as, unlike lace, it was sturdy and washed well. Pillow sham worked by Margaret Tooby for her trousseau, ca. 1900.
Photograph courtesy of Katie Atkinson.
Motifs of flowers and leaves almost appear padded in the raised and textured look. It is a rugged embroidery, and in some circles was regarded as an embroidery undertaken by the lower classes, perhaps, in Australia, rejecting the separation in social standing of the English and Irish settlers.
On most 'carver' cloths were a knife and fork worked in white.
Photograph courtesy of Katie Atkinson.
One particularly interesting cushion cover in the collection of the Embroiderers' Guild of Victoria (Australia) was possibly used for tennis parties. Imperfectly done, it has a series of designs in formal squares, including a pair of crossed tennis racquets.
Pillow sham. Collection of the Embroiderers' Guild of Victoria. It is comprised of nine squares, each with a different image, made by three Irish ladies of Werribee, Victoria (Australia), ca. 1890-1900.
Photograph courtesy of Julie Millowick.
Detail of above.
Mountmellick work gives a very rich surface texture, is practical and washes well. The examples held in private homes have, therefore, usually lasted in good order. Large crewel needles are used with a fairly coarse cotton thread. Thirty-five stitches for Mountmellick work were described in Weldon's Encyclopedia of Needlework, which came to Australia in serial form in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The stitches most commonly found are Gordian knot stitch, thorn stitch, bullion stitch, double bullion, feather stitch, flake stitch, buttonhole stitch, trellis and French knot, faggot stitch, spot stitch, satin stitch and raised picot as well as buttonholing.
In varying the stitches on flowers and leaves, each leaf might be given a different treatment, and the flower petals themselves worked by a fine over-casting.
Waratah. Detail of embroidery by Thelma Crawford, Melbourne (Australia) 1940s. Thelma Crawford's designs appeared as popular kits in the 1940s and 50s in Melbourne.
Collection of the Embroiderers' Guild of Victoria.
Photograph courtesy of Julie Millowick.
The technique was commonly employed on pillow covers or shams. These shams were kept snowy white and had to be removed from the pillow each night. Lillie Tame made a pair of shams decorated with lillies in Mountmellick stitches in approximately 1908-1910. The family remember she would never allow her husband to remove them for fear he would make them dirty.
Antique vintage cotton satin pillow sham.
Two traditional Mountmellick cloths, commonly used until approximately 1940, were the bread cloth and the carver cloth. The former was usually embroidered with a sheaf of wheat and was used to protect the bread from flies or air.
Mountmellick bread cover.
The carver cloth usually, but not always, depicted a carving knife and fork in delicate raised stitch as well as the word 'carver'. This cloth was placed underneath the meat dish while the man of the house carved the meat; its function was to catch the splashes and drips from the meat and so protect the elegant white tablecloth beneath.
Reference:
[1] J. Isaacs, The Gentle Arts, Ure Smith Press, Sydney (1991).
Preamble
For your convenience I have list below other posts in this series:
Egyptian Museum Cairo - Part I
Egyptian Museum Cairo - Part II
Egyptian Museum Cairo - Part III[1]
The Middle Empire ca. 2040 - 1785 BC
At the end of the 6th Dynasty, after internal confusion had led to the disintegration of the State and the intellectual world of the Old Empire (see Part II) King Mentuhetep II, who introduced the Middle Empire, brought about the reunion of the whole of Egypt and the renaissance of Egyptian art. In the valley of Der el-Bahri, royal burial grounds were laid out and the pyramids near Dahschur, together with the new residence in the vicinity of Fayum, were constructed.
Sneferu's Bent Pyramid.
Sculpture and goldsmith's art reached their zenith; under the dominion of King Amenemhet III, the art of portriature achieved excellence.
Statue from the Egyptian Collection of the Hermitage Museum (Russia).
The strong tendency of individual ownership of land was deliberately abolished and the land reverted to the State. The Kings of the 12th Dynasty unlike those of the Old Empire, no longer conducted their military campaigns with the conscripted provincial militia, but rather employed professional soldiers. We know from the contents of the graves what these soldiers looked like and what sort of weapons they carried.
Group of 40 Egyptian soldiers with shields and lances (Dynasty ASSIUT).
There are also models which make it easier for us now to understand the nature of domestic work, fishing and the water traffic of that time.
Spinners and weavers at work; from the tomb of Meketre (Dynasty DER EL-BAHRI).
Fishing-boats dragging a net with Nile fish: from the tomb of Meketre (Dynasty DER EL-BAHRI).
Model boat with linen sail; from the tomb of Meketre (Dynasty DER EL-BAHRI).
The Nile fish have not become extinct in the meantime - the fishermen still pull them ashore today. Since time immortal, these fish have constituted a part of daily food, particularly that of the poorer sections of the population; at a later period, however, the consumption of fish was temporarily forbidden.
The statuette of the maid-servant in a colored dress below is delightful - she is described as a bearer of offerings. She carries on her head a box or basket containing four pots and in her right hand she carries a duck
Painted wooden statue of a maid-servant with duck (Dynasty DER EL-BAHRI).
The steward Amenemhet below sits for his portrait on a seat by the table. The master of the house and his wife welcome their guest beside the high pile of gifts.
Part of a painted limestone stela of steward Amenemhet (Dynasty ABYDOS).
The Middle Empire has also been described by scholars as a period of the finest intellectual perfection, of significant literature and subtle art. Although the museums of Boston, Paris, London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna, Leyden and New York have in their possession important sculptures of this era, nevertheless there are two very significant representations in the Cairo Museum, which corroborate the above statements - the cedar-wood statute of King Senusret (Sesostris) I, who wears the white crown and also the one side of a pillar from a chapel of King Senusret in Karnak, on which the king is embraced by the god Ptah, the 'artist' or 'sculptor'.
Statue of King Senusret (Sesostris) I (dynasty LISCHT).
The stewart Amenemhet sits for this portrait on a seat by the table. The master of the house and his wife welcome their guests beside the high pile of gifts.
The written characters are clearly legible. Twice above the King's head and again at the god's side, we recognise the oval frame which surrounds the King's name - the cartouche. Senusret was known as the 'Man of the Strong', a name which is born by the three kings of the 12th Dynasty.
Reference
[1] P.P Riesterer, Egyptian Museum Cario, 5th Edition, Lehner & Landrock, Cario, 1995.
Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series:
Diversity of African Textiles
African Textiles: West Africa
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part I
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part II
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part III
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part IV
Djerma Weaving of Niger and Burkina-Faso
Woolen Stripweaves of the Niger Bend
Nigerian Horizontal - Loom Weaving
Yoruba Lace Weave
Nigerian Women's Vertical Looms
The Supplementary Weft Cloths of Ijebu-Ode and Akwete
African Tie and Dye
Tie and Dye of the Dida, Ivory Coast
African Stitch Resist
Yoruba Stitch Resist
Yoruba: Machine-Stitched Resist Indigo-Dyed Cloth
Yoruba and Baulé Warp Ikat
Introduction[1]
Ewe weavers are acknowledged to be some of the most skilful in West Africa. Indeed, they are in such demand that they can found to be working as far away as Lagos and Ibadan in Nigeria. Versatile and adaptable, they weave in three areas of south-east Ghana: at Abbozume and around the Geta lagoon; at Kpetoe; and up around K[andu. Although examples of Ewe's work can be seen across the border in Togo and with their relatives the Son in Benin - both weave in a similar style with the best work probably in Ghana.
Akan woman of the old Gold Coast wearing a Ewe stripwoven waist wrap.
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part IV[1]
Traditionally, the Ewe have always woven in cotton, though nowadays much of their production is in rayon, in strips, following the Ashanti style for export to the Afro-American market.
Woman's keta cotton cloth stripwoven in Agbozume.
What distinguishes traditional Ewe weaving from that of the Ashanti is the use of cotton rather than silk or rayon and the introduction of floating weft patterns of a figurative nature into some of the warp-faced sections of strip. Much Ewe work is plain chequered cloth made up of strips sewn selvedge to selvedge, with warp-faced blocks alternating with weft-faced blocks in each strip, as is the case around the Geta lagoon.
Men's keta cloth woven in the Kpetoe district by Ewe weavers on narrow looms by men (eastern Ghana).
Around Kpetoe, weaving follows the Ashanti style. Whatever the region though, special cloths are woven for chiefs and elders, with floating weft motifs being introduced into the warp-faced blocks. Knives, hands (what we have we hold), keys (to the castle), chief's fly whisks and even musical instruments are typical. Each has a proverbial meaning.
Ewe women's keta cloth, woven in eastern Ghana. The variegated effect in the weft-faced blocks is achieved by twisting two differently coloured cotton filaments together to form the weft thread.
The Ewer weavers use the same technique as the Ashanti (see below). They sit in a carpenter-made frame loom with foot treadles operating two pairs of heddles. If any floating weft work is required, it is added by hand. The weaver often works from a drawing on paper.
Adanudo Ewe man's prestigious stripwoven cloth with fine supplementary weft details. (Kpetoe district, eastern Ghana).
One distinguishing feature of Ewe weaving is the way that the threads used for the weft-faced blocks are often made up of filaments of two or more different colours twisted together, which gives a variegated effect.
Ewe cloths consist of 16-24 strips, cut to size, then sewn, selvedge to selvedge. Both weaving and sewing are done by men.
Adanudo Ewe man's stripwoven cloth with silk supplementary weft details depicting such symbols from royalty as the stool, the fly-whisk and the crown (eastern Ghana).
Reference:
[1] J. Gillow, African Textiles, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London (2003).
Preamble
This is the one hundredth and fifth post in the "Art Resource" series, specifically aimed to construct an appropriate knowledge base in order to develop an artistic voice in ArtCloth.
Other posts in this series are:
Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms
Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics
Occupational, Health & Safety
A Brief History of Color
The Nature of Color
Psychology of Color
Color Schemes
The Naming of Colors
The Munsell Color Classification System
Methuen Color Index and Classification System
The CIE System
Pantone - A Modern Color Classification System
Optical Properties of Fiber Materials
General Properties of Fiber Polymers and Fibers - Part I
General Properties of Fiber Polymers and Fibers - Part II
General Properties of Fiber Polymers and Fibers - Part III
General Properties of Fiber Polymers and Fibers - Part IV
General Properties of Fiber Polymers and Fibers - Part V
Protein Fibers - Wool
Protein Fibers - Speciality Hair Fibers
Protein Fibers - Silk
Protein Fibers - Wool versus Silk
Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff
Cellulosic Fibers (Natural) - Cotton
Cellulosic Fibers (Natural) - Linen
Other Natural Cellulosic Fibers
General Overview of Man-Made Fibers
Man-Made Cellulosic Fibers - Viscose
Man-Made Cellulosic Fibers - Esters
Man-Made Synthetic Fibers - Nylon
Man-Made Synthetic Fibers - Polyester
Man-Made Synthetic Fibers - Acrylic and Modacrylic
Man-Made Synthetic Fibers - Olefins
Man-Made Synthetic Fibers - Elastomers
Man-Made Synthetic Fibers - Mineral Fibers
Man Made Fibers - Other Textile Fibers
Fiber Blends
From Fiber to Yarn: Overview - Part I
From Fiber to Yarn: Overview - Part II
Melt-Spun Fibers
Characteristics of Filament Yarn
Yarn Classification
Direct Spun Yarns
Textured Filament Yarns
Fabric Construction - Felt
Fabric Construction - Nonwoven fabrics
A Fashion Data Base
Fabric Construction - Leather
Fabric Construction - Films
Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins
Fabric Construction – Foams and Poromeric Material
Knitting
Hosiery
Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns
Weaving and the Loom
Similarities and Differences in Woven Fabrics
The Three Basic Weaves - Plain Weave (Part I)
The Three Basic Weaves - Plain Weave (Part II)
The Three Basic Weaves - Twill Weave
The Three Basic Weaves - Satin Weave
Figured Weaves - Leno Weave
Figured Weaves – Piqué Weave
Figured Fabrics
Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements
Crêpe Fabrics
Crêpe Effect Fabrics
Pile Fabrics - General
Woven Pile Fabrics
Chenille Yarn and Tufted Pile Fabrics
Knit-Pile Fabrics
Flocked Pile Fabrics and Other Pile Construction Processes
Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms
Napped Fabrics – Part I
Napped Fabrics – Part II
Double Cloth
Multicomponent Fabrics
Knit-Sew or Stitch Through Fabrics
Finishes - Overview
Finishes - Initial Fabric Cleaning
Mechanical Finishes - Part I
Mechanical Finishes - Part II
Additive Finishes
Chemical Finishes - Bleaching
Glossary of Scientific Terms
Chemical Finishes - Acid Finishes
Finishes: Mercerization
Finishes: Waterproof and Water-Repellent Fabrics
Finishes: Flame-Proofed Fabrics
Finishes to Prevent Attack by Insects and Micro-Organisms
Other Finishes
Shrinkage - Part I
Shrinkage - Part II
Progressive Shrinkage and Methods of Control
Durable Press and Wash-and-Wear Finishes - Part I
Durable Press and Wash-and-Wear Finishes - Part II
Durable Press and Wash-and-Wear Finishes - Part III
Durable Press and Wash-and-Wear Finishes - Part IV
Durable Press and Wash-and-Wear Finishes - Part V
The General Theory of Dyeing – Part I
The General Theory of Dyeing - Part II
Natural Dyes
Natural Dyes - Indigo
Mordant Dyes
Premetallized Dyes
Azoic Dyes
Basic Dyes
Acid Dyes
Disperse Dyes
Direct Dyes
Reactive Dyes
Sulfur Dyes
Blends – Fibers and Direct Dyeing
The General Theory of Printing
There are currently eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms, which has been updated to Version 3.5. All data bases will be updated from time-to-time in the future.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document etc. for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip over those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will hopefully be useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Introduction
Basic dyes are also called cationic dyes because in solution they ionize with the colored component bring a cation (i.e. a positively charge carrier). Also, the opposite to an acid is a base and because acidic dyes carry a negative charge in solution and cationic dyes carry a positive charge, the latter are also known as basic dyes. Note: The anion of the cationic dyes is usually a chloride anion, which assists these dyes to be water soluble.
Basic dyes were developed very early in the synthetic dye industry. For example, the basic dye Rosorcine Violet was developed in 1883. The chromophore (i.e. the group in the dye responsible for its color) is the -N(CH3)2+- chemical group. When they were first synthesized they were used to dye wool and silk, but as these colored textile materials possessed poor color fastness, they were displaced for these fibers by acidic dyes.
Basic (Cationic) Dyes.
The manner in which basic dyes bond to the fiber is not too dissimilar to acidic dyes, except using a reverse mechanism. That is, the basic dyes only attach to those in the fiber that can accept a negative charge from the acidic solution.
When acrylic fibers come to the fore, a modified form of the basic dyes was developed and appropriately named modified basic dyes. The descriptor “modified” has been dropped from this class of dyes, since they are now more prevalent in dyeing and printing, than the original basic dyes.
Synthetic acrylic and modacrylics are mostly dyed and printed using (modified) basic dyes. They work well with modified nylon or polyester fibers. They work with some plant fibers: reed, rafia, grasses and barks etc. They produce brilliant colors and so, they are sometimes used as topping colors in overdyeing to increase the brilliance of the fabric.
Basic dyes yield brilliant colored dyed and printed textiles.
Dyeing With Basic Dyes
Basic dyes are applied to acrylic fibers using slightly acidic dye liquor. Basic dyes have good substantivity for acrylic fibers and exhaust well within narrow limits of temperatures. Care must be taken when applying basic dyes to acrylic fibers in order to avoid unlevel dyeing. This is achieved by introducing a retarder and by carefully regulating the temperature of the dye liquor during dyeing (see below).
The color component of the basic dye is the cation. The dyeing process can be represented as follows.
Reaction equation for dyeing on an acrylic fiber.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Basic dyes only attaches to those sites in the fiber that can accept a negative charge from the acidic solution.
Fiber polymer system becomes negatively charged by the acid solution.
Note: The negative charge carriers that are loose (in the mildly acidic solution that contains the basic dyes) are attracted to specific sites on the fiber surfaces and the fiber polymer system.
Positively charged dye is attractive to the negative site on the fiber surface and within the fiber polymer system.
Note: Sites on the fiber surface are now negatively charged and so will attract the positive dye molecules in solution.
Ionic attraction (shown) and van der Waals forces of attraction (not shown) bond cationic dyes to fiber sites.
The complete bonding mechanism is a mixture of ionic attraction (positive dye ion attracted to a negative ion on fiber sites) and van der Waals forces (i.e. intermolecular forces).
To prevent unlevel dyeing of the acrylic fibers, a cationic retarder is added to the dye liquor. It has the same charge as the dye molecule and so effectively competes with it for the negatively charged sites, preventing the dye from rushing onto the fiber. Nevertheless, because the cationic dye has a greater substantivity for the acrylic fiber polymer system than the cationic retarder, it will slowly replace the cationic retarder and so ensure a more levelling dyeing process.
Printing with Basic Dyes
When basic dyes are applied to acrylic fibers by printing, steaming is required to enlarge the voids in the amorphous region of the polymer system in order to enable greater penetration by the cationic dyes into the fiber polymer system. The steam also provides the kinetic energy for the cationic dyes to attach themselves to the negative fiber sites within the fiber polymer system.
Properties of Basic Dyes
Light Fastness
Dyed and printed textile materials using basic dyes have a light fastness rating of about 6-7, which translates to excellent light fastness. This is attributed to the acrylic fibers, which are hydrophobic and so minimizes their absorption of water, and also because of their natural excellent resistance to sunlight.
Wash Fastness
Acrylic textiles dyed and printed with cationic dyes have a good wash fastness with a rating of about 4-5. This is attributed to the hydrophobic nature of acrylic fibers, which in effect has a natural tendency to repel water.
Bright Colors
Basic dyes are characterized by their brilliance and intense hues. The bright colors achieved using basic dyes do not usually occur for other dye classes. The reason for this lies within the chromophores and their interaction with the incident light.
References:
[1] A Fritz and J. Cant, Consumer Textiles, Oxford University Press, Melbourne (1986).
[2] E.P.G. Gohl and L.D. Vilensky, Textile Science, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne (1989).
Mountmellick work was favoured for pillow shams and cushion covers as, unlike lace, it was sturdy and washed well. Pillow sham worked by Margaret Tooby for her trousseau, ca. 1900.
On most 'carver' cloths were a knife and fork worked in white.
Pillow sham. Collection of the Embroiderers' Guild of Victoria. It is comprised of nine squares, each with a different image, made by three Irish ladies of Werribee, Victoria (Australia), ca. 1890-1900.
Detail of above.
Waratah. Detail of embroidery by Thelma Crawford, Melbourne (Australia) 1940s. Thelma Crawford's designs appeared as popular kits in the 1940s and 50s in Melbourne.
Antique vintage cotton satin pillow sham.
Mountmellick bread cover.
