Design
13/01/1710-1711 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This design is from an album that contains 104 designs for fine woven silk cloth and is dated January 13th 1710/11. A constant supply of fashionable new designs from which to create new lines was required, so patternmakers and master weavers like James Leman supplied a wide range of designs for different weavers. The album contains some of his work from the period 1706-1716, as well as five designs from the 1730s.
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 states that it was made for his father Peter Leman, showing that he drew it while still an apprentice. The inscription also reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Tullie, a mercer who was an important customer of Leman's, who bought 25 silks between 1708 and 1721, mostly the more expensive kinds.
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 states that it was made for his father Peter Leman, showing that he drew it while still an apprentice. The inscription also reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Tullie, a mercer who was an important customer of Leman's, who bought 25 silks between 1708 and 1721, mostly the more expensive kinds.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper |
| Brief description | Design for woven silk from the 'Leman Album', pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper, by James Leman, Spitalfields, 1710-11 |
| Physical description | Design for woven silk from the 'Leman Album', in pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper, in pale, mid and dark brown and red, depicting large curvilinear shapes in brown wash decorated internally. Over these are superimposed two different motifs, loosely based on a basket, vases, a plant and an arrangement of fruit in dark brown and red. These motifs are painted on large patches of paper, originally pasted down, which can now be lifted to reveal alternative motifs. Decorative, floral and foliate motifs cover the rest of the design. The design is squared up in pencil for cords and dezines, with dezines numbered in ink, and has been altered by patches in two places, which can both be lifted to see alternative designs. Alongside the design is pasted a strip of paper with a garland-like flower motif in ink - E.1861.50-1991 (VS.43). |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support and the National Heritage Memorial Fund |
| Object history | This is a design from the so-called 'Leman album' which was bought from Vanners Silks Ltd. 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. |
| Production | Attribution note: Natalie Rothstein stated in her book Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century that 'Design has been altered by patches in two places, one of these can be lifted up to see the alternative design. Alongside the design is pasted a strip of paper 3/4" x 4 1/4" (1.9 x 10.8 cms) with a garland-like flower motif in ink.' In fact both patches can now be lifted to reveal the alternative designs. |
| Summary | This design is from an album that contains 104 designs for fine woven silk cloth and is dated January 13th 1710/11. A constant supply of fashionable new designs from which to create new lines was required, so patternmakers and master weavers like James Leman supplied a wide range of designs for different weavers. The album contains some of his work from the period 1706-1716, as well as five designs from the 1730s. 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 states that it was made for his father Peter Leman, showing that he drew it while still an apprentice. The inscription also reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Tullie, a mercer who was an important customer of Leman's, who bought 25 silks between 1708 and 1721, mostly the more expensive kinds. |
| Bibliographic reference | 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. 351p., ill. ISBN 0500235899.
p. 104 |
| Other number | VS.43 - 'VS' stands for Vanners Silks which owned the album when Natalie Rothstein catalogued it for her publication <u>Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century</u>. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1861:49-1991 |
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| Record created | May 3, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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