Bower Birds and Magpies: Gold and metal
Since earliest civilisations, gold and metal have been used to embellish articles of dress for royalty to the church. Goldwork displayed wealth, power and leadership. An exhibition of items from the Embroiderers' Guild Collection and the speaker's private collection will compliment the talk.
Gold has always provoked a powerful response in humans. Since the earliest of civilisations, gold and metals have been used to embellish articles of dress. Gold, in particular, has been an indicator of wealth, power, leadership and social status in many societies. The reflective nature of metal has often also been associated with rituals relating to the sun.
This talk will use a wide variety of embroidered and woven textiles worldwide to show the diversity of how these precious metals were used and some of the meanings behind them.
The exhibition to support this talk has been created for this one off event.
Tea and coffee will be served.