Textile Fragment thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Textile Fragment

late 14th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Tartan velvet with six colours of cut silk pile, brocaded with gold. The 'tartan' pattern is formed by vertical stripes of uneven thickness of six colours of pile warp ordered as follows: 2 white, 2 brown, 3 pale blue, 2 brown, 2 white, 30 apricot, repeating the thin stripes of white, brown and blue warps, followed by 31 green warps, then the thin stripes again and 29 mauve warps. These pile warps are voided at intervals to allow the insertion of stripes of brocading wefts, where these metallic stripes occurs, one thicker, flanked by two thinner ones, the silk is woven in a double cloth construction. The metallic wefts are bound in a weft-faced chevron twill. The metallic wefts are made of gilded membrane wound in S around a silk or linen core.
The ground is woven in a weave derived from plain weave, which each tuft of pile secured by three ground wefts squeezed together in the same shed.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk velvet brocaded with gold
Brief description
Tartan velvet of cut silk pile brocaded with gold.
Physical description
Tartan velvet with six colours of cut silk pile, brocaded with gold. The 'tartan' pattern is formed by vertical stripes of uneven thickness of six colours of pile warp ordered as follows: 2 white, 2 brown, 3 pale blue, 2 brown, 2 white, 30 apricot, repeating the thin stripes of white, brown and blue warps, followed by 31 green warps, then the thin stripes again and 29 mauve warps. These pile warps are voided at intervals to allow the insertion of stripes of brocading wefts, where these metallic stripes occurs, one thicker, flanked by two thinner ones, the silk is woven in a double cloth construction. The metallic wefts are bound in a weft-faced chevron twill. The metallic wefts are made of gilded membrane wound in S around a silk or linen core.
The ground is woven in a weave derived from plain weave, which each tuft of pile secured by three ground wefts squeezed together in the same shed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 9cm
  • Width: 15.9cm
Bibliographic reference
Monnas, Lisa, 'Developments in figured velvet weaving in Italy during the 14th century' in Bulletin de Liaison du Centre International D'étude des Textiles Anciens (Lyon: CIETA, no 63-64, 1986), pp.63-100.
Collection
Accession number
882-1899

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Record createdFebruary 25, 2005
Record URL
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