Embroidery: Quick Facts

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Photos

Alphabet sampler

English embroidered box, or casket, with raised-work pictures of scenes from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) embroidered in silk, signed by Rebecca Stonier Plaisted, 1668; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Embroidered silk with dragon, phoenix, and tiger pattern, from Mashan Tomb No. 1, 4th–3rd century bce, Zhou dynasty; in the Jingzhou Museum, Hubei province, China.

Detail of an embroidered waistcoat, French, 1800–25; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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Topics

art needlework Schiffli lace Surrey Needlepoint Sampler Quillwork Opus anglicanum Crewel work Chikan work Whitework quilting beadwork featherwork patchwork crochet

Key People

Grayson Perry dressed as his alter ego Claire, wearing a bright red dress and red heels, stands on a pink and white carpet outside the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Grayson Perry

British potter

Tracey Emin sits on the floor in front of her installation My Bed, which features an unmade bed surrounded by personal items, on display at Christie's in London.

Tracey Emin

British artist

Joyce Wieland

Joyce Wieland

Canadian artist and filmmaker

Art Nouveau wall covering of poppies by Albert Ainsworth of machine printed on oatmeal paper made in Hackensack, New Jersey, c. 1905.

Art at Random Quiz

Marble sarcophagus with garlands, ca. A.D. 200-225; Severan period, Roman; in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (festoon, swag)

Textiles and Design Quiz