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| Tibaldinho Embroiderers |
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Tibaldinho is a small village located in the municipality of Mangualde, southwesterly of Viseu, which still has an ancient grouping of small granite houses with very narrow streets and alleys. This one and other neighboring villages characterize and single out the plateau region of the central inland of Portugal, called Beira, where the deep furrow of the river Douro stands out. In spite of being the name of a village, Tibaldinho evokes, for to the majority of people living nearby, one of the most traditional and typical arts of the region: the Embroidery Art of Tibaldinho. This type of embroidery is an embroidery in white used to decorate towels, bed clothing, aprons and all kinds of cloths intended to be used in the decoration of the home. All these pieces underline the sensitivity and the feminine concern in the decoration of the home, which, with this kind of embroidery, reflect the intimate and private touch of each woman. In fact, this embroidery is not pompous; on the contrary, it is quite discreet, so that, even in an occasional teatime with friends, or giving a party meal, it is possible for an outsider to appreciate the embroidered pieces. The most ancient known embroidered pieces date from the XIX century, and, although the origin of this embroidery is not known, it is probable that its origin lies in English embroideries, such as it is the case with many embroideries of other regions. The motifs that characterize the Tibaldinho embroidery are the interlacing (sequence of very coiled eyelets), the canoes (sequence of eyelets with more abated arches), the slubs, the spiral cords, the stars, the hearts, the skillfully styled oak leaves, the net glasses (circular openings filled with spiders) and the famous (because they are unique) Tibaldinho open work embroidery ("crivo"), woven on the reverse of the piece. In Tibaldinho there exist less than 500 inhabitants, so the around 20 to 30 embroiders constitute a considerable part of the active feminine population. The difficulty in knowing the exact number of embroiders lays in the fact that it is a sporadic activity, which characterizes the work of these artisans in general. The need no longer is so pressing as it was in the past, and it is very difficult for these women, who work in cells and individually, to market products which become quite expensive due to the incorporation of the handcraft work in them. The success of the Arraiolos embroidery, also done by these embroiders, through orderings, is another difficulty for the development of Tibaldinho embroidery. That's why, due to all these difficulties, the Tibaldinho embroidery is becoming more and more rare, almost as if its pieces were museum artifacts. |
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Cloth of the Fishes Linen Cloth with Tibaldinho Embroidery |
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Towel with Monogram Linen Towel with Tibaldinho Embroidery |
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Cloth of the Interlacing (small) Rectangular Linen Cloth with Tibaldinho Embroidery |
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