Toni Buckby – Zoom Talk – History of Blackwork

Blackwork embroidery, with its striking black silk thread on white linen, was one of the most fashionable techniques of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Found on intimate garments and household textiles, it shifted in style and method over the hundred years of its popularity. Today, only a handful of fragile examples survive. Those that remain are in various stages of disintegration, due to the iron-based fixatives once used in black dye. Because of this, portraits from the period provide some of the richest records of Blackwork embroidery in use. This talk will trace the stylistic development and application of blackwork through these surviving examples and portrait evidence.

About Toni

Toni Buckby is a Sheffield-based artist working with traditional textile techniques, experimental digital technologies, and collaborative making. Her practice explores the value of labour, the visibility of authorship, and how practical knowledge is created and shared.

Specialising in fine hand embroidery, Toni is currently undertaking a PhD with Sheffield Hallam University and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Her research uses contemporary art practice to investigate, reconstruct, and interpret fragile and little-seen examples of historic Blackwork embroidery.

Website: https://tonibuckby.com

https://blackworkembroidery.org

The talk is free to members of Textile Explorers