The Home Beautiful: The Cockatoo Fire Screen, c. 1850

Fire Screen of Berlin Woolwork
English, 1847
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This beauty is a masterful example of the popular embroidery technique of “Berlin Woolwork,” so-called because the first printed patterns and dyed wools came from Berlin. Berlin Woolwork was fashionable in Britain between 1830 and the 1870s. Patterns for these pieces were sold individually, or, they could be purchased as kits with the required wools. By 1847, fourteen thousand different Berlin Woolwork patterns were available to consumers in Britain.

This fire screen panel is created of Berlin Woolwork on a taupe linen canvas. The embroidered scene depicts a sulphur-crested cockatoo (a bird from Australia) perched atop a tipped basket overflowing with flowers. A garden background sets the scene with elegant statuary and trees. The background, however, is remains un-worked.

The person responsible for working the scene has shown incredible skill, and has created a sense of realism with the use of plush stitch for the plumage of the cockatoo and cross-stitch in other places for additional texture. The Woolwork was used for a fire screen. The whole piece was assembled in the early 1850s.

The Home Beautiful: The Cockatoo Fire Screen, c. 1850

Fire Screen of Berlin Woolwork
English, 1847
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This beauty is a masterful example of the popular embroidery technique of “Berlin Woolwork,” so-called because the first printed patterns and dyed wools came from Berlin. Berlin Woolwork was fashionable in Britain between 1830 and the 1870s. Patterns for these pieces were sold individually, or, they could be purchased as kits with the required wools. By 1847, fourteen thousand different Berlin Woolwork patterns were available to consumers in Britain.

This fire screen panel is created of Berlin Woolwork on a taupe linen canvas. The embroidered scene depicts a sulphur-crested cockatoo (a bird from Australia) perched atop a tipped basket overflowing with flowers. A garden background sets the scene with elegant statuary and trees. The background, however, is remains un-worked.

The person responsible for working the scene has shown incredible skill, and has created a sense of realism with the use of plush stitch for the plumage of the cockatoo and cross-stitch in other places for additional texture. The Woolwork was used for a fire screen. The whole piece was assembled in the early 1850s.

History's Runway: The Iris Comb, 1820

Berlin Iron Comb
Prussia or Germany, 1820
The Victoria & Albert Museum

“Berlin Iron,” in jewelry terms refers to this sort of lacy, black adornment which was first produced by the Prussian Royal Iron Foundaries around 1805. This type of jewelry became a symbol of the Prussian wars against France’s Napoleon Bonaparte when ladies would donate their gold jewelry to the cause and be given an iron piece in return.

While the practice remained predominately Prussian, during the French occupation of Berlin, the technique was learned and brought to France. In Germany, only a woman of the highest social rank would have worn Berlin Iron and, so, the work was associated with the upper echelon. A comb such as this one from about 1820 with its cameo of the goddess Iris is an ideal example of the delicacy of the work. Since iron tends to be a brittle substance which is also highly susceptible to rust, few example of this early Nineteenth Century art survive in such perfect condition. The pieces were often made in a Gothic Revival or Neoclassical style.

The Home Beautiful: The Cockatoo Fire Screen, c. 1850

Fire Screen of Berlin Woolwork
English, 1847
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This beauty is a masterful example of the popular embroidery technique of “Berlin Woolwork,” so-called because the first printed patterns and dyed wools came from Berlin. Berlin Woolwork was fashionable in Britain between 1830 and the 1870s. Patterns for these pieces were sold individually, or, they could be purchased as kits with the required wools. By 1847, fourteen thousand different Berlin Woolwork patterns were available to consumers in Britain.

This fire screen panel is created of Berlin Woolwork on a taupe linen canvas. The embroidered scene depicts a sulphur-crested cockatoo (a bird from Australia) perched atop a tipped basket overflowing with flowers. A garden background sets the scene with elegant statuary and trees. The background, however, is remains un-worked.

The person responsible for working the scene has shown incredible skill, and has created a sense of realism with the use of plush stitch for the plumage of the cockatoo and cross-stitch in other places for additional texture. The Woolwork was used for a fire screen. The whole piece was assembled in the early 1850s.