Design
- Place of origin:
Spitalfields, England (designed)
- Date:
09/03/1710-1711 (designed)
- Artist/Maker:
Leman, James, born 1688 - died 1745 (designer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Pencil, pen and ink, watercolour 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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Design on the right in two shades of brown depicts two large peg shapes, decorated internally. This design is dated March 9th 1710/11. This date reflects the Julian calendar dates when the year began on 25th March (Lady Day). The Gregorian calendar was not used in England until 1751.
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 Tullie, a mercer who was an important customer of Leman who bought 25 silks between 1708 and 1721, mostly the more expensive kinds.
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 two shades of brown, depicting two large peg shapes, decorated internally. The tops of the pegs are shaped like the caps of toadstools over which is a shape like a pitched roof. There is a pendant leaf hanging from one corner of the roof. The pitched roof of the top peg appears at the bottom of the design indicating the repeat. The top toadstool cap is decorated internally with ovals each containing a flower. The lower one is decorated with chevrons
Place of Origin
Spitalfields, England (designed)
Date
09/03/1710-1711 (designed)
Artist/maker
Leman, James, born 1688 - died 1745 (designer)
Materials and Techniques
Pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper
Marks and inscriptions
'London March 9th ...1710/11 / This pattern for a Damask brocade- / with gold orsilver for MrTulley &Con- / 450 cords No [crossed through] 8 & 10 - 130 Dez : in 4 simpls / for my Father Peter Leman- / by me James Leman-'
Squared up in pencil for cords and dezines and numbered in ink.
Dimensions
Height: 60.4 cm, Width: 26.4 cm, Height: 23 3/4 in, Width: 10 3/8 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)
Production Note
Natalie Rothstein states in 'Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century' that '[VS48: there are two nos '48' and this design has been given the no. 48]'.
Materials
Pencil; Watercolour; Ink; Bodycolour
Techniques
Drawing; Painting
Collection code
PDP
