Design
- Place of origin:
Spitalfields, England (designed)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Leman, James, born 1688 - died 1745 (designer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Pencil, pen and ink and bodycolour on laid paper
- Credit Line:
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
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The design on the left shows a diagonal sense of movement and forms which are vaguely reminiscent of trophies. These forms are rectangular and include one which recalls a quiver of arrows from which emerge heads of wheat instead of arrows. Over this is a large leaf and a huge seedpod. At the bottom of the design is a large flower or perhaps a pineapple. This design is dated November 9th 1706.
James Leman was born in 1688 into a weaving family of Huguenot descent. In 1702 he was apprenticed to his father, Peter, and lived with his family in Stewart Street, Spitalfields in London. Leman's inscription on the design reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Trenchfield, a mercer who commissioned three designs between 1706 and 1712.
This design is from an album that contains 97 designs for fine silk cloth. A constant supply of fashionable new designs from which to create new lines was required, so patternmakers and master weavers like Leman supplied a wide range of designs for different weavers. The album contains some of his work from the period 1706-1716.
Physical description
Design in the so-called 'bizarre' style with a diagonal sense of movement and forms, which are vaguely reminiscent of trophies, lying against, over, or in opposition to, each other. These forms are rectangular and include one which recalls a quiver of arrows from which emerge heads of wheat instead of arrows. Over this is a large leaf and a huge seed pod. At the bottom of the design is a large flower or perhaps a pineapple.
Place of Origin
Spitalfields, England (designed)
Date
09/11/1706 (designed)
Artist/maker
Leman, James, born 1688 - died 1745 (designer)
Materials and Techniques
Pencil, pen and ink and bodycolour on laid paper
Marks and inscriptions
'London Novr: 9th 1706 / Mr Trenchfields first Sattin tishue figure / 450 Cords 8 & 10 - 150 Dezines in 3 Simples. / By me James Leman'
'150 | 50 [ The 50 is crossed out.] / 33 | 10 [The 33 is crossed out. ] / ---- / 500 in 1 Simple'
Squared up in ink for cords and dezines.
Dimensions
Height: 70.2 cm, Width: 26.7 cm, Height: 27 5/8 in, Width: 10 1/2 in
Object history note
This is a design from the so-called Leman album which was bought from Vanners & Co. in 1991. Natalie Rothstein catalogued the designs before the album was bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum. She gave each design a VS number (for Vanners Silks) in her catalogue 'Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century'. The designs have been subsequently numbered by the Prints, Drawings and Paintings Department, however, a concordance exists.
Historical significance: The designs collected in the album are, with the exception of some fragmentary medieval examples in Italian collections, the earliest silk designs known to exist.
Descriptive line
Design for woven silk from the Leman album
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Rothstein, Natalie 'Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century in the Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London with a Complete Catalogue with 473 Illustrations, 371 in Colour'. London : Thames and Hudson, 1990. pp.96-107.
Exhibition History
Flowered Silks (Victoria and Albert Museum 08/08/1990-28/08/1990)
Materials
Pencil; Ink; Bodycolour; Laid paper
Techniques
Drawing; Painting
Collection code
PDP
