I—POTTERY
Making clay pots for household use is one of the first things women did. They took ordinary earth, moulded it roughly, and baked it in their domestic fires until it would hold water and food. Such pots are found everywhere where there are ancient remains, among the lake dwellers in Switzerland, among Egyptians and Greeks, and in the ruins in Mexico. Later, men took this work largely to themselves, and kept it until our own day, when women have begun to make beautiful pottery, glazed and decorated. Show pictures from catalogues of such potteries as the Rookwood and others, and mention also the good work that is done privately and fired in small kilns.
II—SPINNING AND WEAVING
Begin the study of this delightful topic back in the earliest times, and show how step by step it advanced. Woolen and linen fabrics were made by the ancients, and dyed with vegetable colors, for clothing and for hangings. Notice the tapestries of later days, especially those first woven in Flanders and Arras, which were so valuable they were used only by royalty or in churches. Have a paper on tapestry made at home, in castles, and even in royal residences, by the household of women. Speak also of the work done in Colonial days by our grandmothers, of the linen sheets and blankets spun and woven, and of the beautiful blue-and-white coverlets of the period. Show some of the latter, if possible. Read from the book called Tapestry and Embroidery, by Cole.
III—EMBROIDERY
Almost as soon as skins were made into garments the art of decoration was discovered, and feathers and shells were sewed to them in patterns, and stitches taken with colored fibers, grasses, and shreds of wool. The primitive tribes of Indians, especially in South America, use exactly the same methods to-day. Embroidery was always distinctly women's work, men never sharing in it as they did in making pottery. In Egypt, Assyria, and among the Jews it became much more elaborate and artistic. Tyre and Sidon were noted for their beautiful work. Homer describes embroidered garments among the Greeks; Roman women wore showy colored borders on their skirts and scarfs.
In the early Middle Ages ecclesiastical embroidery, done largely in gold and silver threads, was known in Europe, and much exquisite work of the kind was done in the convents. Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, and her women made the famous Bayeux tapestry, which was really embroidery.
The embroidery of the Orient, especially that of China and India, is famous, though this is not done exclusively by women. Mention the originality of the patterns used, the brilliance of the silk, and the permanence of the colors. Note also the lovely white embroidery done by the French and other nations.
IV—LACE-MAKING
This art grew out of that of embroidery, for the thin parts of the latter were cut out, leaving the effect of heavy, colored lace. A book was published in 1527, called The New and Subtile Book Concerning the Art and Science of Embroidery, Fringes, and Tapestries, as Well as Other Crafts Done with the Needle, and in this book there are patterns for lace. The Venetians first mastered the making of white lace with the needle, and produced heavy, effective designs. Under Louis XIV. delicate lace was made in France, especially that called Valençon. Pillow-lace made with bobbins was invented by a woman in Saxony about the middle of the sixteenth century.