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Source Description
This Russian embroidered panel was likely used to embellish the end of a bathing towel. Textiles of this type are valuable for their fine embroidery of ancient folk motifs, ritual significance, exemplification of the role of textiles in their society, and in this case, connection to a prominent woman collector, Natalia de Shabelsky, without whom this textile and others like it might have been lost.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
112512
label
Towel End
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
112512
contentType
object
title
Towel End
description
This Russian embroidered panel was likely used to embellish the end of a bathing towel. Textiles of this type are valuable for their fine embroidery of ancient folk motifs, ritual significance, exemplification of the role of textiles in their society, and in this case, connection to a prominent woman collector, Natalia de Shabelsky, without whom this textile and others like it might have been lost.
date
c 1700s- 1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79877701
genreSpecific
Embroidery
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 38 x 43 cm (14 15/16 x 16 15/16 in.)
cul
Russia, Nizhny-Novgorod province, 18th-19th century
accession
1931.132
Source extras
tec
plain weave linen (est.) with polychrome wool (est.) and metal thread chain stitch embroidery; applied silk (est.) ribbon and metal thread trim
tombstone
Towel End, c 1700s- 1800s. Russia, Nizhny-Novgorod province, 18th-19th century. Plain weave linen (est.) with polychrome wool (est.) and metal thread chain stitch embroidery; applied silk (est.) ribbon and metal thread trim; overall: 38 x 43 cm (14 15/16 x 16 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1931.132
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
Embroidering the ends of everyday towels was a common folk tradition in many cultures because it displayed the skill of the mother or daughter who stitched them.
citations
citation
Pushkin, B. M, B. M Pushkin, N. de Shabelsky, and N. de Shabelsky. <em>Exhibition of National Russian Art, 17th, 18th and Early 19th Centuries: Peasant Embroideries, Costumes, Headdresses, Hand-Woven Materials, Laces, Ikons, Articles of Silver, Copper, Etc.: Shown by Count and Countess B.m.-Pushkin</em>. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified, 1900.
citation
Valance, Aymer. "Russian Peasant Industries." <em>The studio: an illustrated magazine of fine and applied art</em><strong>. </strong>London: Offices of the Studio, 1893-1964. volume 37, 1906.
page_number
p. 241-248
citation
Sidamon-Eristoff, V. P., Princess. <em>Sobranīe russkoĭ stariny Kn. V.P. Sidamon-Ėristovoĭ i N.P. Shabelʹskoĭ: vypusk I-ĭ, vyshivki i kruzheva = Antiquités russes, collection princesse Sidamon-Eristoff et Mlle. N. de Schabelskoi</em>. Moskva, 1910.
citation
Holme, Charles, and Studio. <em>Peasant Art in Russia</em>. The Studio, 1912. Special No. London: "The Studio", 1912.
page_number
p. 3-11
citation
Gostelow, Mary. <em>Embroidery of All Russia</em>. New York: Scribner, 1977.
citation
Schwoeffermann, Catherine, Peter Klosky, and Merrill Oliver. <em>Goddesses and Their Offspring: 19th and 20th Century Eastern European Embroideries</em>. Binghamton, N.Y.: Roberson Center for the Arts & Sciences, 1986.
citation
Efimova, L. V., R. M. Belogorskai︠a︡, and Santina M. Levey. <em>Russian Embroidery and Lace</em>. Translated by A. I. Ilʹf. 1st English-language ed. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1982.
citation
Kelly, Mary B. "Embroidery for the Goddess." <em>Threads Magazine</em> 11 (June/July 1987).
page_number
p. 26-9
citation
Kelly, Mary B. <em>Goddess Embroideries of Eastern Europe</em>. Winona, MN: Northland Press of Winona, 1989.
page_number
p. 208
citation
Cook, Bridget M.<em> Russian Lace Making.</em> London: Batsford, 1993.
citation
Grusman, V. M., Elena Madlevskai︠a︡, and Karina Solovʹeva. <em>Collection Chabelskaya: une Russie fin de siècle: portrait de femmes en costume traditionnel</em>. 2010.
citation
Lovings-Gomez, Lauren. “The Lost Narrative of Natalia Shabelsky’s Collection of Russian Textiles.” In <em>Hidden Stories/Human Lives: Proceedings of the Textile Society of America 17th Biennial Symposium</em>, October 15-17, 2020. UNL Commons. Accessed 10/20/2021 from <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/">https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/</a>. doi: 10.32873/unl.dc.tsasp.0117
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:56:25.418000
sourceId
112512
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
plain weave linen (est.) with polychrome wool (est.) and metal thread chain stitch embroidery; applied silk (est.) ribbon and metal thread trim
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5ccb682fde442731