Queen Mary’s Throwover in Goldwork and Silk Shading
| Location: Hampton Court Palace | |
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Techniques: Goldwork, Silk Shading |
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Duration: Two Days (10am - 4pm) |
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This class is open for Priority Booking by RSN Friends only. General booking for this class opens on Saturday 3 October. If you are an RSN Friend, please sign in to book. |
Course Description
Discover the story and embroidery of a remarkable piece from the Royal School of Needlework Collection and Archive in this special one-day course, part of our new Heritage and Archive Collection.
Inspired by a beautiful floral motif embroidered around the edges of a historic throwover belonging to Queen Mary of Teck, this course invites you to recreate a detail from the original piece using the techniques, materials and methods that bring its embroidery to life. Approaching the motif as though the embroidery were brand new, you will explore a combination of traditional Goldwork embroidery and contemporary Silk Shading to capture the colour, texture and metallic detail of the original.
The throwover features silk and metal threads worked on a silk satin ground. Embroidered on a tacked-up corner is the Queen’s nickname, May. Also present on the throwover is the crown Queen Mary of Teck wore for her 1911 coronation, which features crosses and fleurs-de-lis. This crown was altered for use by Queen Camilla during her 2023 coronation. The style of the embroidery, as well as the inclusion of the crown, leads to an approximate dating of the throwover to between 1911 and 1920. Queen Mary generously gave the piece to the RSN, and its style, stitching and composition suggest it may have been made here, too.
During the course, your RSN Tutor will guide you through the techniques used to recreate the floral motif, combining Goldwork embroidery and contemporary Silk Shading. You will explore how silk threads can be blended to create colour, shading and detail within the flowers and foliage, before introducing metal threads to recreate the richness and highlights found within the historic embroidery. Working through the design will give you a closer understanding of how these contrasting materials and techniques work together and of the craftsmanship behind the original piece.
Queen Mary of Teck was a devoted collector of artefacts for the House of Windsor’s collection and a keen domestic embroiderer. She became the patron of the Royal School of Needlework in 1911 and, over the course of her more than 40-year-long tenure, donated a number of items to the RSN, including her own needlework and historical textiles from her collection.
What you will need to bring
Tutor Biography
Royal School of Needlework In-House Team
Collection & Archive
