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Design

05/03/1708 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This design is from an album that contains 104 designs for fine woven silk cloth and is dated March 5th 1708. 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 reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Tullie, a mercer who was an important customer of Leman's who bought 25 silks, mostly the more expensive kinds, between 1708 and 1721.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper
Brief description
Design for woven silk from the 'Leman Album', pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper, by James Leman, Spitalfields, 1708
Physical description
Design for woven silk from the 'Leman Album', in pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on laid paper, in ochre and brown, with two stylised twisting columns on each side of the design, above which are sections of a balcony or fence. Beneath each column are large diamonds which are decorated internally. There is a wide space between the columns which is decorated with dots and motifs shaped irregularly in a manner resembling coral.

The design is squared up and numbered in pencil for cords and dezines. The whole of the central portion of the design is patched and has been replaced.
Dimensions
  • Height: 37.5cm
  • Width: 26cm
  • Height: 14.75in
  • Width: 10.25in
Dimensions taken from 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.
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'London March 5th-1708 A Damask figure for Mr Tulley 400 Cords 8 & 10 - 68 Dezines long-for my Father P:L-by me James Leman' (Handwritten text in ink including the designer's signature and date, on the back of the design. The inscription is invisible because the design is pasted down. However, it was recorded by Natalie Rothstein in her book Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century.)
  • '4 Simples' (Handwritten text in pencil, on the back of the design, in the bottom left corner of the fold. This inscription is difficult to see because it is on the crease.)
  • Squared up and numbered in pencil for cords and dezines. (Handwritten makers' and designer's marks in pencil, on the front of the design.)
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: The whole of the central portion of the design is patched and replaced with a design which is different to the original.
Summary
This design is from an album that contains 104 designs for fine woven silk cloth and is dated March 5th 1708. 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 reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Tullie, a mercer who was an important customer of Leman's who bought 25 silks, mostly the more expensive kinds, between 1708 and 1721.
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. 101 Full text of the entry is as follows: 'London March 5th-1708 A Damask figure for Mr Tulley 400 Cords 8 & 10 - 68 Dezines long- for my Father P:L- by me James Leman The whole of the central portion of the design patched and replaced. Squared up, numbered in pencil for cords and dezines. 14 3/4" (37.5) x 10 1/4" (26) VS78'
Other number
VS.78 - '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.1861:87-1991

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Record createdMay 7, 2002
Record URL
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