In the late 19th century, this fragment of Italian silk dating to the mid-late 14th century, was mounted on a cardboard backing. The Museum's artist Blanche F. Hunter then extended the textile's design by painting in watercolour an impression of what the pattern repeat would have looked like. This recreation would have been useful for textile designers who came to the Museum to seek inspiration from historic textiles for their own patterns.
The textile design incorporates elements of patterns directly lifted from imported Eastern silks, alongside European motifs. Leaping European deer are combined with the Chinese unicorns known as qilins amongst stylised large flowers and leaves. At this time the luxury goods market often imitated Eastern techniques, not only in textiles, but also in ceramics, metalwork and glass, combining them with Christian themes and Classical traditions.
Physical description
Piece of woven silk lampas. Faded pinkish white silk (possibly originally red) and gold thread, with touches of green. The partial design shows leaping deer, large flowers, and fabulous beasts, probably griffins.
Place of Origin
Italy (probably, made)
Venice, Italy (possibly, made)
Lucca, Italy (possibly, made)
Date
ca. 1350-1400 (made)
Artist/maker
Hunter, Blanche F. (painter (artist))
Unknown (painter (artist))
Materials and Techniques
Silk in lampas weave brocaded with gilt-metal thread, mounted on handpainted cardboard
Dimensions
Height: 43.5 cm mount, Width: 35 cm mount, Height: 21 cm fragment, Width: 37 cm fragment
Object history note
Historical significance: Example of 14th century Lampas weave silk with fashionable animal motif that can be read from a symbolic/allegoric viewpoint.
Historical context note
This is almost certainly an Italian silk from the mid-late 14th century. The Italian weavers started out by producing silks that used elements directly lifted from imported Eastern silks, combined with European motifs. From the mid 1320s through to the late 1300s, Italian silks began to feature witty animal designs, as here. The fragment of the full design shows leaping hinds and a mythical beast, possibly a griffin, amongst stylised large flowers and leaves.
The fabric is a lampas weave. This is a weave in which a supplementary weft provides the figured pattern. The threads in the supplementary weft float over the surface of the woven base fabric, and are held down by binding warp threads. The example here has a twill ground, with the design picked out in gold threads. It was probably originally red, but is now faded to a very pale salmon pink, almost cream.
The subject matter of the fabric and its original red and gold colourway would have made it particularly appropriate for ecclesiastical use. These luxurious lampas silks were also used for fashionable courtly dress. In visual sources such as the early 15th century Devonshire Tapestries (T.202 to 205-1957), courtly figures are depicted lifesize, wearing sumptuous garments with large-scale patterns and motifs. These probably post-date the sample, and are predominantly patterns with floral motifs rather than depictive vignettes. However, the scales of the patterns in relation to their wearers are similar. I have looked through several books of 14th and 15th century dress as portrayed in visual sources, and where richly dressed figures are portrayed, the patterms tend to be almost exclusively foliate/floral. The implication is that figurative designs such as this, with creatures in the design, were not necessarily to be found in secular dress, which is almost always shown as either plain, or bearing patterns based upon leaves, flowers, and the "pomegranate" design.
- Daniel Milford-Cottam (2007)
References:
J. Hall. Hall's Dictionary Of Subjects & Symbols In Art, (London, revised ed. 1979)
J. Herald. Renaissance Dress In Italy 1400-1500 (New Jersey, 1981)
J. Herald. "Italian Silks 1500-1900", chapter 18 of 5000 Years Of Textiles, ed. J. Harris. 5,000 Years of Textiles (London, 1993)
L. Monnas - "Italian Silks 1300-1500", chapter 17 of 5000 Years Of Textiles, ed. J. Harris. (London, 1993)
M. Scott. Late Gothic Europe, 1400-1500 (New Jersey, 1980)
L. Woolley. Medieval Life and Leisure in the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries (London, 2002)
Comparable textiles illustrated in O. von Falke and cited in Coutts, Evans and Monnas article in The Burlington Magazine, p. 391.
Descriptive line
Silk lampas, ca. 1350 to 1400. Italian. Pinkish-white silk (possibly originally red) brocaded with gold thread. Mounted on a painting to show full pattern
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Howard Coutts, Mark Evans & Lisa Monnas. 'An early Italian textile drawing in the Victoria and Albert Museum', The Burlington Magazine. June 2008, pp. 389-92; Fig. 25.
Extant designs are related to this silk and others, and an attribution of late 14th century, possibly Venetian or Lucchese, the links getween Venice and Lucca being noted. the article concludes that the variety of motifs in the group of silk designs 'epitomises the workings of the luxury goods' market in the 14th and 15th centuries at a time when Europeans imitated Eastern techniques in textiles, ceramics, metalwork and glass and combined them with established Christian themes and resurgent Classical traditions.'
Materials
Silk (textile); Cardboard; Metal thread
Techniques
Watercolour drawing; Weaving; Brocading
Subjects depicted
Flowers; Leaves; Hind
Categories
Textiles
Collection code
T&F
