Stumpwork is a form of raised embroidery in which parts of the design are padded, wired or built up so that they stand out from the background in three dimensions. Figures, animals, flowers, fruit and insects are worked in silk and metal threads over padding of wool, horsehair or carved wooden moulds, and details may be made separately with wired edges and then applied.
The technique is especially associated with England in the mid to late seventeenth century, when it was known at the time as raised work, the term stumpwork coming into use much later. It was often worked by girls of well-to-do families as the culmination of their needlework education, and it was used for pictures, mirror frames and caskets for jewellery and writing materials. Common subjects include biblical and classical stories, royal figures, fanciful castles, exotic beasts and abundant gardens, frequently out of scale with one another. Surviving pieces are rare and fragile, and condition is crucial; fading, losses to raised elements, tarnished metal threads and dirt are all common. Original frames and caskets with their fitted interiors add considerably to value, and conservation should be left to a specialist.
