An intriguing silk scarf has resurfaced in the textile collection.

This piece, that came in a job lot from an auction in London, is in strikingly bright colours and depicts a crenellated gateway. A clue to the scarf and its image of the buildings lay in the label that is attached to the scarf. This is fortuitous. The rest of the scarves in the auction lot have had their labels snipped out and so have lost any clues to their origin.

The Order of Saint John is a chivalric gathering that originated with the Knights Hospitaller, a Catholic military order. It has a long history from the establishment of the Knights Hospitaller in 1099 in Jerusalem to the formation of the Order of St. John in the 19th Century in the UK. The group is today known for its health and medical work. The building structures pictured on the scarf show St. John’s Gate in Clerkenwell, London, the headquarters of the order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

The Ladies’ Guild of St. John has an equally fascinating history. Originally founded as the Ladies’ Linen Guild in 1926, the group was a sewing community for the wives of the members of the Order. Their work was to repair clothing, garments and linens for the medical fraternity and patients at the London Eye Hospital. Over time the Guild became a significant fundraising group and continues its work today, building hospitals, funding the salaries of nurses and medical staff, and offering support during war and conflict.

Guilds for women were not created in the 20th Century. This article about two such groups that existed to protect women’s work in France reveals the business practices and astute dealings of the textile industry in the 15th and 16th Centuries.

The silk scarf in the collection can be seen by request. With its unique background it offers a glimpse into a colourful past and is a valuable piece of textile history.