At Dovecot – Stitched – Scotland’s Embroidered Art – opens today

A major new exhibition opens today of some of Scotland’s textile treasures, some of which the public have not had the opportunity to see before.

Partnering with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) the textiles are presented as significant works of art.

The works show 200 years of Scottish domestic interiors looking at embroidery from the NTS collection. Some of the pieces have been restored during the last two years after a research and conservation programme.

There are dozens of pieces of rich embroidery from 1720 to 1920 such as fire screens and tablecloths with drawings to tell their stories.

King George III was monarch during a period of changing styles in architecture and interiors. The expansion of global trade through the East India Company saw design ideas exchanged around the world, whilst the Glasgow School of Art bolstered the position of embroidery as a serious subject of study in the 19th century. Organised thematically, the breadth of artists and works included in ‘Stitched’ will chart these trends and influences through embroidery, situating the works on display in wider design histories. 

The exhibition will open with an examination of the ubiquity of embroidery in Scottish design over these two centuries, exploring how varied the medium was and the range of items that were embroidered, from decorative pieces to domestic furnishings. A primarily amateur pursuit, embroidery crossed the boundaries of socioeconomic status, relatively unrestricted by levels of training, or the availability of materials.

Many of the artists in the exhibition would have been taught by family members, copying originals or creating samplers. Copied from an Italian original, a gold thread work-table cover from Haddo House, c.1890, on display for the first time, was sewn by Mrs Sandison, a self-taught embroiderer and the daughter of an Aberdeenshire crofter. 

The works on display have been selected from key National Trust for Scotland properties including Newhailes House, Drum Castle, House of Dun, The Weaver’s Cottage and the Hill House. Following the exhibition, many of the works included will go on public display in their respective properties for the first time. In the context of Dovecot’s long history of both embroidery and tapestry, and its collaboration with acclaimed artists, the exhibition will encourage a long overdue re-evaluation of this collection as works of art.

Emma Inglis, the National Trust for Scotland’s Regional Curator (South & West) and the creator of this exhibition, said: “The textiles in the exhibition highlight the vibrant trends, influences and personal choices that helped shape the look of the domestic interior in Scotland through 200 years. The makers have been chosen for their high levels of skill and artistry, many of them previously underrepresented in public histories of Scottish needlecraft and interiors.

“The National Trust for Scotland’s mission is to conserve and share Scotland’s rich heritage. By creating this exhibition at Dovecot, we are able to showcase some of the magnificent works within our collection and the care that has gone into conserving them so they can continue to inspire future generations. We’re grateful to the private lenders and different properties who have contributed objects to the exhibition, and to our charity’s members and supporters who make our work possible.”

Dovecot Studios Director, Celia Joicey said: “It is a privilege to have the National Trust for Scotland’s extraordinary collection of domestic textiles shown together for the first time in Edinburgh. They provide an inspiring context in which to see Dovecot’s 21st-century artistic tapestries and rugs being made.”