Bed Curtain thumbnail 1
Bed Curtain thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56c

Bed Curtain

1690-1710 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This curtain is from a set of bed hangings. When the set was acquired it comprised four curtains and three valances, but there may originally have been more pieces to make the complete bed. One of the curtains has the embroidered date 1755, suggesting it was thought valuable enough to complete or refurbish some 50 years after it was originally started.

Design & Designing
The design here derives from the Indian flowering tree motif, but has been turned into a repeating pattern of vertical branches suitable for a set of hangings. The effect of the repetition is softened by variations in the stitches and colours, and its regularity suggests it was drawn by a professional onto the ground fabric or copied directly from a pattern. The repeating motif of hound chasing stag is particularly suited to a design seen in the round when the curtains are drawn.

Materials & Making
Needlework was a skill taught from early girlhood in 17th-century Britain. Adult women might earn their living from it, or use it in the upkeep and decoration of their households. In the case of curtains like this it enabled the impact of such imported and professionally manufactured goods as chintz to be imitated in a domestic setting.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Linen and cotton twill, embroidered with wool
Brief description
embroidered, 1700s, English; Crewelwork
Physical description
Embroidered Curtain; linen and cotton twill, embroidered with wool; with large mainly red or blue flowers, blue or blue-green leaves and yellow stems, above a ground area of dark green mossy like lumps, on which are a variety of creatures including, butterflies, deer, a spotted dog with collar, and a variety of flowers.
Dimensions
  • Height: 221.5cm
  • Width: 138cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 12/04/2001 by ML Tex cons. Post cons dimensions from Marilyn Leader. Display dims refer to size of former - confirmed 10/2000
Gallery label
British Galleries: BED CURTAINS
These two curtains illustrate how design ideas were passed backwards and forwards between India and England. Both are based on the Indian flowering tree pattern. The Indian makers of the painted chintz used textile designs from Britain to adapt their traditional designs for a British market. The British makers of the embroidered curtain were, in turn, imitating fashionable Indian chintzes and re-created them with embroidery.(27/03/2003)
Summary
Object Type
This curtain is from a set of bed hangings. When the set was acquired it comprised four curtains and three valances, but there may originally have been more pieces to make the complete bed. One of the curtains has the embroidered date 1755, suggesting it was thought valuable enough to complete or refurbish some 50 years after it was originally started.

Design & Designing
The design here derives from the Indian flowering tree motif, but has been turned into a repeating pattern of vertical branches suitable for a set of hangings. The effect of the repetition is softened by variations in the stitches and colours, and its regularity suggests it was drawn by a professional onto the ground fabric or copied directly from a pattern. The repeating motif of hound chasing stag is particularly suited to a design seen in the round when the curtains are drawn.

Materials & Making
Needlework was a skill taught from early girlhood in 17th-century Britain. Adult women might earn their living from it, or use it in the upkeep and decoration of their households. In the case of curtains like this it enabled the impact of such imported and professionally manufactured goods as chintz to be imitated in a domestic setting.
Collection
Accession number
72C-1897

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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