Two tailed sirens in Cretan embroidery
Two tailed sirens, Cretan embroidery, 1760-1762. Embroidery on linen warp/ cotton weft ground embroidered in polychrome silks. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
While I was first disappointed to find two tailed sirens on embroidery, as seemed like it was another example of this lovely image being used just for decorative art, like in the margins of books, I’ve since changed my mind. For one, this is the first recorded time that women have interpreted this powerful female symbol. Two, women’s art has historically been overlooked, from women artisans in the middle ages not having their names attached to their work, to women painters not having the same access to art education in the 18th and 19th centuries, to female book illustrators having their work overlooked as “only” art for children.
So, let's take a look at some examples of two tailed sirens in Cretan embroidery.
Two tailed siren, embroidered cushion, Crete, 17th- 18th century. The Benaki Museum, Athens. My photograph.
Following the story of sirens in embroidery is interesting— for, in a roundabout way, she was returning home, to Greece. Venice was an important trading port, and the Greek island Crete was a colony of Venice for centuries— and the twin-tailed siren was a popular Venetian design. As a cross-stitch pattern, the siren traveled back to her native land from Italy, inspiring the hands of Crete’s seamstresses.
Women’s dress with Creten embroidery, 17th century. The Benaki Museum, Athens. My photograph. Small sirens are embroidered on the bottom of the skirt.
Women in Crete embroidered the two tailed sirens, stitching them on pillows and dresses, giving the old design new meaning. Scholar Sonia Greger suggests that the siren design on wedding dresses was to both “prepare and protect” girls for marriage:
“I suggest... in their embroidering, women were engaging in a kind of contemplation of what was of the utmost concern to them. Copying and modifying a design from Grandma’s cushion cover would be rather like hearing a well-loved folktale told once more round the kitchen on a winter evening: sharing and reliving its meaning and values. These stories, still told in probably the same in modern Cretan villages, reiterate meanings and confirm group and kin loyalties and commitments.”
Embroidery fragment, Crete, 17th. The Benaki Museum, Athens. My photograph.
Two tailed siren, embroidery, part of a dress border. Date: 18th century, Crete. Silk on linen. MET.
Two tailed siren, embroidered cushion cover, 18th or 19th century Crete. Linen and cotton plain weave, embroidered with silk.
Two tailed sirens, embroidery, portion of a dress border. 18th century, Crete. Silk and metal thread on linen. MET.
Two tailed siren, embroidered skirt border, Crete, 18th century. Embroidered linen and cotton in silk. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Two tailed sirens, border Strips of a linen skirt 1600s–1700s, Crete, Greece. Cleveland Museum of Art.
For a two tailed siren embroidered on a parasol; for a Portuguese tapestry.
For a deep dive into this topic, and other images of sirens in embroidery, see:
Page 5: Greger, Sonia. "The Cretan Gorgona: Monster or Goddess?" In The World Archeological Congress, edited by Tim Ingold; Mark Maltby, 1-27. Southhampton: Allen & Unwin, 1986.
For a discussion of the twin-tailed siren in embroidery, and the influence of Venice, see: Krody, Sumru Belger. "Two-Tailed Mermaids." In Embroidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Region: Harpies, Mermaids, and Tulips. London: Scala Publishers, 2006.
For other embroidery examples:
Sachs, Eleanor B. "Some Notes on a Twelfth-Century Bishop’s Mitre in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club 61 1 & 2 (1978): 69.
“The Seager Bequest.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 21, no. 3, 1926, pp. 72–76. JSTOR.
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