Literature: Die Kunst der Goldstickerei by Amalie von Saint-George

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von Saint-George, Amalie. Die Kunst der Goldstickerei. Nebst einer Anleitung zur Verwendung der Goldstickerei in Verbindung mit Application. Wien: Verlag der Wiener Mode, 1890

This publication is a historic document about the use of gold embroidery in the 19th century in central Europe. Written by a former student, then teacher and later director of the then k. k. Fachschule für Kunststickerei in Vienna (an imperial school specialized on the art of embroidery), it is a course published within the magazine “Wiener Mode” that later got edited into a schoolbook for teaching embroidery.

She states the founding of specialized schools, such as the k. k. Fachschule für Kunststickerei, founded 1874 as one of the first of such institutions, as essential for the promotion of (gold) embroidery. The author mourns the decline of the discipline at the beginning of the century regarding its position and its execution. She describes gold embroidery as an essential part of noble decorations both secular and clerical. In her introduction to the course she gives the establishment of specialized schools credit to spread the knowledge about the craft and provide graduates of the school with means of income. The written course is meant to guide students in learning the craft of gold embroidery, as “the current taste favors its application for the most versatile purposes”.

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The book includes detailed overviews over several metal embroidery techniques, instructions how the stitches are formed and boards that show specific patterns used in gold embroidery.

diekunstdergolds00sain

diekunstdergolds00sain

 

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