V&A Museum outing
I finally visited the V&A which was a real treat. I went hoping to find something interesting for my research. I wandered through several different galleries and what struck me was not the various textiles, but the jewelry section. In the jewelry gallery there is a section on regional dress jewelry. I particular to note the the jewelry that relates to the geographical region I'm interested in; countries including Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Scotland.
Looking at these pieces, mostly brooches, there are similarities in the shapes of the brooches, such as the heart shape which is used in Sweden and Scotland. Seeing these shapes or motifs from different countries repeated in side by side displays confirms this design and pattern exchange that I find intriguing. It is also contributing to the motif library that I am creating to track the motifs and create my own side by side display to take notice of the changes/interpretations.
There were some that presented new motifs I hadn't seen or considered before. The ones that struck me as something different came from Iceland.
# 10 Appliques 1800-1900. #8 &9 Bodice fasteners 1800-1900. Photo taken by Aleks Byrd at Victoria Albert Museum
The star shapes used in #10 & 8 are slightly different from the 8 point star motif commonly used in patterns through out northern Europe as they are shaped around a circle with softer, rounded points.
#9 is reminiscent of Celtic knot work and reminds me slightly of waves with the arabesque curves.
Jewellery. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 28 October 2017.