introduction of red-hot irons within them. The stamped or struck ornaments in sheet metal, used especially in connexion with the brass and Britannia-metal trades, are obtained by a process of embossing—hard steel dies with forces or counterparts of soft metal being used in their production. A kind of embossed ornament is formed on the surface of soft wood by first compressing and consequently sinking the parts intended to be embossed, then planing the whole surface level, after which, when the wood is placed in water, the previously depressed portion swells up and rises to its original level. Thus an embossed pattern is produced which may be subsequently sharpened and finished by the ordinary process of carving (see Chasing and Repoussé).
EMBRACERY (from the O. Fr. embraseour, an embracer, i.e. one who
excites or instigates, literally one who sets on fire, from embraser, to kindle a fire; “embrace,” i.e. to hold or
clasp in the arms, is from O. Fr. embracer, Lat. in and bracchia, arms), in
law, the attempting to influence a
juryman corruptly to give his verdict
in favour of one side or the other in
a trial, by promise, persuasions, entreaties,
money, entertainments and
the like. It is an offence both at
common law and by statute, and
punishable by fine and imprisonment.
As a statutory offence it dates
back to 1360. The offence is complete,
whether any verdict has been given
or not, and whether the verdict is in
accordance with the weight of evidence or otherwise. The person
making the attempt, and any juryman who consents, are equally
punishable. The false verdict of a jury, whether occasioned
by embracery or otherwise, was formerly considered criminal,
and jurors were severely punished, being proceeded against
by writ of attaint (q.v.). The Juries Act of 1825, in abolishing
writs of attaint, made a special exemption as regards jurors
guilty of embracery (§ 61). Prosecution for the offence has been
so extremely rare that when a case occurred in 1891 (R. v. Baker,
113, Cent. Crim. Ct. Sess. Pap. 374) it was stated that no precedent
could be found for the indictment. The defendant was
fined £200, afterwards reduced to £100.
EMBRASURE, in architecture, the opening in a battlement
between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes
called a crenelle (see Battlement, Crenelle); also the splay
of a window.
EMBROIDERY (M.E. embrouderie, from O. Fr. embroder, Mod. Fr. broder), the ornamentation of textile fabrics and other materials with needlework. The beginnings of the art of embroidery
probably date back to a very primitive stage in the
history of all peoples, since plain stitching must have been one of the earliest attainments of mankind, and from that it is but a short step to decorative needlework of some kind. The discovery of needles among the relics of Swiss lake-dwellings shows that their primitive inhabitants were at least acquainted
with the art of stitching.
In concerning ourselves solely with those periods of which examples survive, we must pass over a wide gap and begin with the anciently-civilized land of Egypt. The sandy soil and dry climate of that country have led to the preservation of woven stuffs and embroideries of unique historic interest. The principal, and by far the earliest, known pieces which have a bearing on the present subject, found in 1903 in the tomb of Tethmosis (Thoutmôsis, or Thothmes) IV. at Thebes, are now in the Cairo Museum. There are three fragments, entirely of linen, inwrought with patterns in blue, red, green and black (fig. 1). A kind of tapestry method is used, the patterns being wrought upon the warp threads of the ground, instead of upon the finished web or woven material. Such a process, generally supplemented, as in this case, by a few stitches of fine needlework, was still in common use at a far later time. The largest of the three fragments at Cairo bears, in addition to rows of lotus flowers and papyrus inflorescences, a cartouche containing the name of Amenophis (Amenhotep) II. (c. 15th century B.C.); another is inwrought with the name of Tethmosis III. (c. 16th century B.C.).[1]
 |
| Fig. 1.—Fragment of a linen robe, found in the tomb of Tethmosis (Thothmes) IV. at Thebes, and now in the Cairo Museum. The cartouche has the name of Amenophis (Amenhotep) II. (c. 15th century B.C.). |
No other embroidered stuffs which can be assigned to so early a date have hitherto come to light in the Nile valley (nor indeed elsewhere), and the student who wishes to gain a fuller knowledge of the textile patterns of the ancient Egyptians must be referred to the wall-paintings and sculptured reliefs which have been preserved in considerable numbers.
From the ancient civilizations of Babylon and Assyria no fragments of embroidery, nor even of woven stuffs, have come down to us. The fine series of wall-reliefs from Nineveh in the British Museum give some idea of the geometrical and floral patterns and diapers which adorned the robes of the ancient Assyrians. The discovery of the ruins of the palace of Darius I. (521-485 B.C.) at Susa in 1885 has thrown some light upon the textile art of the ancient Persians. They evidently owed much to the nations whom they had supplanted. The famous relief from this palace (now in the Louvre) represents a procession of archers, wearing long robes covered with small diaper patterns, perhaps of embroidery.
The exact significance of the words used in the book of Exodus in describing the robes of Aaron (ch. xxviii.) and the hangings and ornaments of the Tabernacle (ch. xxvi.) cannot be determined, and the “broidered work” of the prophecy of Ezekiel (ch. xxvii.) at a later time is also of uncertain meaning. It seems likely that much of this ancient work was of the tapestry class, such as we have found in the early fragments from Thebes.
The methods of the ancient Greek embroiderer, or “variegator” (ποικιλτής) to whom woven garments were submitted
- ↑ See H. Carter and P. E. Newberry, Cat. gén. des ant. égypt. du musée du Caire (1904), pl. i. and xxviii. A remarkable piece of Egyptian needlework, the funeral tent of Queen Isi em Kheb (XXIst Dynasty), was discovered at Deir el Bahri some years ago. It is described as a mosaic of leatherwork—pieces of gazelle hide of several colours, stitched together (see Villiers Stuart, The Funeral Tent of an Egyptian Queen, 1882).
