It is Thanksgiving, and as the turkey settles into my belly and I lay on the couch like a lump, I feel it is time to give thanks to a wonderful mix of to personal obsessions - beetles and embroidery!
Use of beetles in personal adornment, whether alive or deceased, have appeared in many places around the world. The oldest documented example of the use of beetle wings can be seen in the Japanese Tamamushi Shrine, dating from 650 A.D.
Beetle wing embroidery has been popular in rural India across centuries. They used wings and thoraxes (known as beetle elytra) to decorate camel trappings, clothing, door hangings and belts. Elytra are the hard outer wing cases of jewel beetles. Use of eltra in Indian textiles began to explode during the Mughal era (1526 - 1756). They were used to embellish tradition embroideries; particularly those on silk brocades or gold cloth used for ceremonial court furnishings and robes.
Beetle wings first appeared in Europe in the 1820s, exported from India by the East India Trading Company. Originally these beetle wing encrusted fabrics were created by local artisans on a small scale, but due to the growing trend in Europe, specifically England, of collecting "exotic goods" from the far corners of their Empire, larger indusrty centers were needed. They set up in Calcutta, Madras and Delhi. The European women could take the textiles and have them fashioned ino iridescent, glittery dresses. They were usually formed into floral motifs.
To find out more, check out the book The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection by Jane Nicholas.
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