So I divert in the story just a bit.  If we wanted to make a 17th century color pallet, we needed to match against something!  And something that I have constant access to is much better than trying to do this once at a museum.  So I have been on the look out for an affordable (ha!) piece of 17th century embroidery for a very long time – one that I might be able to access original colors.  Well, a few years ago, I was visiting the New Hampshire Antiques Week and came upon just the piece.  It was a piece of stumpwork that was just within my ability to negotiate a price I could live with.  I think I must have stood in front of it with a magnifier for at least an hour counting techniques and thread types.  I retired to the lunch room (where I ran into a few well known textile researchers and had a great chat about the Plimoth Jacket that wasn’t finished yet) and pulled out the calculator.  The calculations went like this: how much would I have to pay in licenses and travel to get the same information I could get if I owned this piece.

There were glass eyes on the piece, tons of composite metal and silk threads I wanted to reproduce, certain types of metal trim, and the list went on.  If it was mine, I could do things I know how to do but am not allowed to do with museum pieces – such as X-ray it.   And if it came off the backing during conservation, not only could I see the original colors, but possibly sample threads from the back for advanced measurements if I needed.

Well, I was able to negotiate the price into the zone where it was more efficient to own than to work with a series of museums.  And I could get more information as well.  So it became mine.  It took me almost six months before it was mine and in my hands – but my calculations have been correct.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Tricia