'Waves Counterpane' thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case T, Shelf 26, Box A

'Waves Counterpane'

Design
1993 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

These are designs (4) on one sheet for Waves counterpane, two cushions and a bolster. Associations with the sea inspired these designs by Paddy Killer (1949–) who graduated in Fashion and Textiles (Embroidery) from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and worked as an embroidery designer in major couture houses in London and Montreal. In 1973, she founded her studio in Canada and in 1981 on return to Britain. Killer exhibits with The ‘ 62 Group founded in 1962 to encourage experimental embroidery, use of mixed media, and people to broaden their attitudes to the craft. These designs were part of a private commission in 1993 that included the Waves counterpane and a bed with headboard carved in a wave-like curl covered in bleached and polished fish skin by the London-based designer Cebuan de la Rochette. (pl.164) Free-machine embroidery or 'drawing with the needle' on the Waves counterpane depicts a vermicelli pattern for which Killer is famous. Stars were featuring in her work at the time of, and were requested for, the commission. The largest drawing is the design for the counterpane and is for machine embroidery that is complemented by drawing, painting and marbling on Antung, Chinese, silk that comprise the actual counterpane.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title'Waves Counterpane' (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink and watercolour and gold felt-tipped pen on watercolour paper.
Brief description
Designs (4) on one sheet for 'Waves Counterpane', two cushions and a bolster.
Physical description
Designs (4) on one sheet showing the counterpane decorated with drawn wave-like bands, some painted with pale blue or brown wash, of vermicelli, wavelets and gold stars with clouds, taking up most of the space on the sheet above which are two squares for the cushions, the right square with part of a truncated dolphin head, gills and body above which is a purple wave-like stripe, the left square has a hooked shape with a whip-like tail above which is a band of gold stars topped by a cloud both lie on a rectangle representing the bolster. There are 11 sections of collage including the wave-like bands of marbled paper and the bottom section of vermicelli on blue wash and the bottom section of rays drawn in brown ink.
Dimensions
  • 59.3 height: cm
  • Width: 41.7cm
Size of sheet
Content description
Waves
Production typeDesign
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'c' in small circle to denote copyright 'Paddy Killer 1993' (Signature and date in pen and brown ink in handwriting at bottom right.)
  • 'blue velvet bolster. / cushionsbacked [sic] backed in / same velvet .' (In handwriting in pen and ink at top right.)
  • 'mattress' (In pen and brown ink in handwriting at top right above the counterpane design in which the pen and ink inscription covers a pencil one copying the same word. In pen and brown ink at bottom left and right.)
  • '1060 / 1049 / 1084' (Handwritten in pencil. These numbers are for 'Madeira Threads' , mostly rayon 30s, 40s & 60s used by Paddy Killer in the free-machine embroidery.)
Production
These designs were part of a private commission in 1993 that included the Waves counterpane and a bed with headboard carved in a wave-like curl covered in bleached and polished fish skin by the London-based designer Cebuan de la Rochette. Free-machine embroidery on the Waves counterpane depicts a vermicelli pattern for which Killer is famous. Stars were featuring in her work at the time of, and were requested for, the commission. The largest drawing is the design for the counterpane and is for machine embroidery that is complemented by drawing, painting and marbling on Antung, Chinese, silk that comprise the actual counterpane.
Subjects depicted
Summary
These are designs (4) on one sheet for Waves counterpane, two cushions and a bolster. Associations with the sea inspired these designs by Paddy Killer (1949–) who graduated in Fashion and Textiles (Embroidery) from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and worked as an embroidery designer in major couture houses in London and Montreal. In 1973, she founded her studio in Canada and in 1981 on return to Britain. Killer exhibits with The ‘ 62 Group founded in 1962 to encourage experimental embroidery, use of mixed media, and people to broaden their attitudes to the craft. These designs were part of a private commission in 1993 that included the Waves counterpane and a bed with headboard carved in a wave-like curl covered in bleached and polished fish skin by the London-based designer Cebuan de la Rochette. (pl.164) Free-machine embroidery or 'drawing with the needle' on the Waves counterpane depicts a vermicelli pattern for which Killer is famous. Stars were featuring in her work at the time of, and were requested for, the commission. The largest drawing is the design for the counterpane and is for machine embroidery that is complemented by drawing, painting and marbling on Antung, Chinese, silk that comprise the actual counterpane.
Collection
Accession number
E.82-2013

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Record createdNovember 30, 2012
Record URL
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