This embroidery was stitched by Elizabeth (Bessie) Burden, the sister-in-law of William Morris. The figurative design of a young winged angel minstrel, clothed in medieval style dress holding two clashing cymbals is based on Morris’s c.1867 design for stained glass.
Burden’s innovative application of Morris’s design appears to have been inspired by medieval embroidery; the unusual shape suggests it could have been intended to fit the side of a casket. The figure is embroidered in silk, using the eponymous ‘Burden Stitch’, applied here to great effect, particularly in the fine features of the angel’s face. The background is intricately embroidered with couched gold thread to create a three dimensional pattern of flowers. At some point in the embroidery’s history it has been framed and Burden’s signature affixed below.
Burden, along with her sister Jane, Morris’s wife, was to play a central role in the production of many of Morris’s finest embroideries. She helped stitch the medieval inspired hangings that furnished William and Jane’s first home, Red House and would later play a central role in his firm’s embroidery department. Although Morris and Burden had a fractious personal relationship, Morris described her as ‘a First-rate needle-woman’ with a ‘complete mastery of the theory & practice of all kinds of needlework’.
In addition to working for Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., Burden supplemented her income by teaching embroidery at the home she shared with her sister and brother-in-law at 26 Queen Square in Bloomsbury and later became an instructor at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN). Whilst at the School she popularised a type of tapestry stitch that could be used to great effect for embroidery figures, as exemplified in this embroidery. The stitch was renamed ‘Burden Stitch’ in the School’s Handbook of Embroidery in recognition of Bessie’s contribution; a woodcut showing the stitch was also included in the volume on the grounds that the RSN was frequently asked to describe it.
This small figurative embroidery is not typical of Morris’s commercial embroidery production and was likely a private project or unrealised commission, supported by the fact it remained in the Morris family. Most interestingly, it bears a striking resemblance to c.1890s embroidery ‘Minstrel with Cymbals’ by Morris’s daughter May, now in the collection of the William Morris Society. Although there are noticeable differences- Burden’s Angel is winged and set against a gold couched background, whereas May’s figure is without wings and the background is of an orange tree, the similarities, from the folds in the Angel’s clothes, to the details in the hands, makes it possible that this example by Burden, the older and more experienced embroider, inspired her niece May to create her own later version of the design.
“Despite being 135 years old, the bright peach colouring of the angel’s wings, and the plain geometric background help keep this embroidery looking vibrant until this day. The expressive shape of the angel’s hands and feet create movement. The decorative rose complements the tones throughout the piece. The feminine feel to the embroidery suggests that it was intended to be used by a woman in the home.” Raizel Frankl-Slater, WMG Young Producer
