Technique: Or Nue

Or Nue (or shaded gold) is a form of goldwork embroidery using couching where different colored silk threads are stitched over the metallic base of gold threads to form patterns or designs, often figures or narrative scenes. The finished product is a definite pattern, deliberately stitched so that the metal shows through. The density and placement of the silk over stitching makes the design. The entire design, background and foreground, is stitched, using small upright stitches.

The technique was worked particularly in Belgium, France and the Netherlands in the Middle Ages. Embroiderers in Italy and Flanders developed this technique to an impressive level of sophistication.
Materials Used

• Gold-covered thread
• silk couching thread

A basic couching stitch was used. Shading was achieved by the spacing of the silk couching thread over the base of gold thread. The closer together the threads are, the denser or stronger the colour. Spacing the threads further apart gives a softer colour, it also allows more of the base gold thread to show through.
Design

This style of embroidery was particular popular for depicting narrative or figural scenes. Some of the greatest examples of this style involve figures, often taken from religious settings.

Some extant examples are:

• Embroidery with the Annunciation, mid-15th century Netherlandish (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)
• Vestments of Order of the Golden Fleece (more detailed images of those used in this post).