Historical perspectives

Historically, textiles were highly prized and valued for their beauty as well as their function, as they were time-consuming and labour-intensive to produce. Because there were few alternative materials suitable for wrapping, carrying, sheltering, shrouding and clothing, textiles held a status and importance in everybody’s lives; we have lost this respect for textiles today. In our modern throwaway world we take for granted the availability, variety and cost of textiles.

Appliqué has existed for thousands of years. Although textiles by their nature deteriorate and disintegrate over time and colours fade, beautiful examples of exquisitely designed and intricately worked appliqué have survived from all over the world. These give us a tantalizing insight into the historic use and importance of appliqué, and an appreciation of the technical skill and creativity of the people who used this method of decorating one cloth with another.

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Ancient appliqué

Archaeological excavations reveal that richly decorated appliquéd and embroidered textiles were closely associated with, and reflected the elite status of, the deceased. They were entombed with the revered dead to accompany them to the afterlife, giving us a fascinating insight into the everyday lives and lost worlds of ancient civilizations.

Some of the earliest surviving appliqués have been discovered in Ancient Egyptian tombs. Mummified animals have been found wrapped in appliquéd cloths, and a linen collar with appliquéd petals dating back 3,000 years was discovered in Tutankhamen’s tomb.

In southern Siberian tombs, examples of felt and leather appliqué, dating back to the fifth century BC, were discovered in the 1920s. These highly decorative and incredibly well-preserved appliquéd carpets and wall hangings, saddle blankets and coverings were made by the early nomadic tribes of the Pazyryk region of the Altai Mountains. It is astonishing that these beautiful textiles really are 5,000 years old – the colours, textures, designs and workmanship are so intact that they could have been made yesterday. It is only because of exceptional climatic conditions that these precious ancient textiles have survived.

Although much of the physical evidence of appliqué has been lost with the passage of time through deterioration, wear and tear, and recycling, there is such a consistency in the use of materials, designs and technique, it is obvious that the traditions of appliqué have been passed from generation to generation through the ages.

For centuries, textiles were a valuable trading commodity and, as they were traded between cultures, ideas about appliqué were exchanged, designs were reinterpreted and techniques were adapted to make them more suitable for use with locally available materials and cultural tastes.

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Saddlecloth, 218 × 68cm (86 × 27in), 5th–4th century BC (Pazyryk culture, Siberia, collection of The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg). The whole surface of this white felt saddlecloth, except for a narrow band beneath the saddle, is covered with ornamental inlay felt appliqué, with horseshoe shapes in the border.

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Medieval appliqué

Disease also played its part in the development of appliqué. In England, the Black Death of 1348 contributed to the destruction of the system of medieval guilds and workshops where skilled textile workers and embroiderers produced vestments and hangings for the Church and the wealthy elite. The style of embroidery at this time, known asOpus Anglicanum (English work), predominantly involved exquisite metal thread and silk stitching, and was intricate, expensive and time-consuming to produce. These pieces were highly valued and exported throughout Europe.

The decimation of a highly skilled professional workforce had a dramatic impact on the way that textiles were decorated: appliqué increasingly began to be used as a less costly substitute for solid em