Although English goldwork embroidery was in decline towards the end of the fourteenth century, it was thriving on the continent. Spectacular embroideries were being produced in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The sophisticated technique of Or Nué see our Level 3 course, also known as Italian shading and shaded gold embroidery, was developed further in Italy and Flanders during the early fifteenth century with particularly impressive and spectacular results.

Or Nué (shaded gold) is a form of goldwork embroidery using couching, where different coloured silk threads are stitched over the metallic base of gold threads to form patterns or designs, often depicting figures or narrative scenes. The finished product is a pattern deliberately designed and stitched so that the metal shows through the stitching. The density and placement of the silk over-stitching thus becomes an integral part of the overall design itself. The entire design, background and foreground, is stitched using small upright stitches. Of the many goldwork embroidery techniques used, Or Nué is undoubtedly the most beautiful, but also the most technically challenging.

A basic couching stitch was used throughout the design. Shading was achieved by the spacing of the silk couching thread over the base of gold thread. The closer together the threads were, the denser or stronger the colour. A wider spacing of the threads did produce much softer colours, but it also allowed more of the gold to show through. The beauty of the Or Nué technique is that by varying the spacing of the threads, the artist can introduce a sense of perspective into the embroidery.

Or Nué embroidery was used mainly in churches, for both clergymen’s vestments and religious iconography. Perhaps the most famous and exquisite surviving example of the technique is ‘Order of the Golden Fleece’ vestments which are still on display at the Treasury in Hofburg, Vienna.