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Furnishing Fabric

ca. 1680 to 1690 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

232 yards of this Italian crimson silk damask were bought in 1699 for furnishing state rooms for King William III in Hampton Court Palace. This fragment was taken from the walls of the robing closet. Its design shows stylised acanthus leaves. Styles in furnishing textiles changed more slowly than those for fashionable dress, and this pattern was chosen for other grand furnishing schemes well into the 18th century.

The English silk industry was expanding rapidly in the later 17th century, but the majority of its production was dress rather than furnishing fabrics, and high quality furnishing silks continued to be imported from Italy, as they had been for centuries.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk damask
Brief description
Furnishing fabric, red silk damask, acanthus pattern, Italian, late 17th century
Physical description
Furnishing fabric, red silk damask with acanthus pattern. Height of repeat 37 inches.
Dimensions
  • Width: 21in
  • Length: 56.5in
Taken from register; not measured on object.
Credit line
Given by Messrs Warners & Sons
Object history
From Hampton Court Palace. Taken from walls of robing closet for Warners to copy in 1923.
Same pattern as T.254-1960.

232 yards of this Italian crimson silk damask with an acanthus design were bought in 1699 for furnishing state rooms for King William III in Hampton Court Palace.
Subject depicted
Summary
232 yards of this Italian crimson silk damask were bought in 1699 for furnishing state rooms for King William III in Hampton Court Palace. This fragment was taken from the walls of the robing closet. Its design shows stylised acanthus leaves. Styles in furnishing textiles changed more slowly than those for fashionable dress, and this pattern was chosen for other grand furnishing schemes well into the 18th century.

The English silk industry was expanding rapidly in the later 17th century, but the majority of its production was dress rather than furnishing fabrics, and high quality furnishing silks continued to be imported from Italy, as they had been for centuries.
Bibliographic reference
Thornton, Peter, Baroque and Rococo Silks, London: Faber and Faber, 1965, Plate 105A and p. 190.
Collection
Accession number
T.43-1937

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Record createdApril 26, 2005
Record URL
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