Panel thumbnail 1
Panel thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery

Panel

1600-1620 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Small furnishing panels such as this one were popular throughout the 17th century and were used to add colour and warmth to what could otherwise be rather bare rooms. Inventories from the early 17th century show that stools, benches and chairs were wooden, usually oak, and so thick textile panels that could be used for loose cushions or as fixed upholstery would have made the user more comfortable.

Materials & Making
The English were quick to adapt the technique of carpet-knotting, which they learned from the Turks, to their own local artistic traditions and needs. In a pile fabric, such as this panel, the foundation consists of two sets of threads, warp and weft, which interlace at right angles. The pile is created by tying a knot of coloured thread around two adjacent warp threads, building up the design row by row while the foundation is woven by the insertion of weft thread across the warp threads after each row of knots is completed. It requires only a small, simple loom and is easily done by hand. In this panel there are 1,024 knots per square decimetre.

Subjects Depicted
The flowers depicted within the architectural arches are those commonly found in English gardens of the period: marigolds, carnations, a grape-vine, pansies, roses and a strawberry plant.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Hand knotted woollen pile on hemp warp and weft; the sides rewoven
Brief description
knotted wool pile, 1600-1629, English; Turkeywork
Physical description
Turkeywork panel
Dimensions
  • Height: 48cm
  • Width: 65cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 28/06/1999 by sp/dw
Gallery label
British Galleries: The term 'turkeywork' refers to knotted carpets made in England which imitated imported Turkish carpets. Smaller turkeywork panels were used to cover chair seats and backs, and make cushion covers. This piece uses motifs of native English garden flowers, perhaps adapted from existing patterns for floral embroidery.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Made in England
Summary
Object Type
Small furnishing panels such as this one were popular throughout the 17th century and were used to add colour and warmth to what could otherwise be rather bare rooms. Inventories from the early 17th century show that stools, benches and chairs were wooden, usually oak, and so thick textile panels that could be used for loose cushions or as fixed upholstery would have made the user more comfortable.

Materials & Making
The English were quick to adapt the technique of carpet-knotting, which they learned from the Turks, to their own local artistic traditions and needs. In a pile fabric, such as this panel, the foundation consists of two sets of threads, warp and weft, which interlace at right angles. The pile is created by tying a knot of coloured thread around two adjacent warp threads, building up the design row by row while the foundation is woven by the insertion of weft thread across the warp threads after each row of knots is completed. It requires only a small, simple loom and is easily done by hand. In this panel there are 1,024 knots per square decimetre.

Subjects Depicted
The flowers depicted within the architectural arches are those commonly found in English gardens of the period: marigolds, carnations, a grape-vine, pansies, roses and a strawberry plant.
Collection
Accession number
T.101-1928

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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