Dress fabric
- Place of origin:
Spitalfields, England (made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
- Credit Line:
Given by Mrs John H. Murray
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 52b, case 1
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Object Type
Traces of pleating into a waistband show that this panel was originally part of a petticoat. In the 18th century such petticoats were intended to be seen as part of women's fashionable dress and were worn with gowns that were open from the waist to reveal them. They were made either of fabric matching the gown, or of a contrasting fabric.
Design & Designing
This woven silk fabric is close in its pattern to a design commissioned by the Spitalfields master weaver, Mr Booth, from the freelance silk designer, Anna Maria Garthwaite. It is, however, very narrow for an English silk, only 40 centimetres wide. It is possible that this silk was woven elsewhere, and its pattern used as inspiration by Garthwaite for her design of 1733. We know that she collected the work of other designers, as a group of designs belonging to here were inscribed 'patterns by different hands'. Alternatively another designer or weaver may have adapted Garthwaite's original design.
Physical description
Dress fabric of woven silk. The silk is woven with the pattern of a sinuous tree trunk from which hangs an opening but stylised pomegranate. A large flower with leaves grows between each fruit. The ground is green, the tree trunk and leaves are white and the fruit, flowers and other details are crimson, salmon pink, raspberry pink and pale green, There are two repeats in the width.
Double tabby - two warps and two wefts, both bound in tabby, one green and one white, with the green forming the ground and the white the tree trunk and leaves. The proportion of each is 1:1. A proportion of the threads from each warp (every fourth thread and every alternate shoot) is used to bind the pattern in 3/1 twill. The coloured pattern wefts are woven in changes i.e., crimson, salmon pink and green as required by the pattern. Only one pattern weft is used at a time. Selvages are 0.25 inch tabby with two faint stripes.
Place of Origin
Spitalfields, England (made)
Date
ca. 1733 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Double tabby woven silk
Dimensions
Height: 108 cm, Width: 84.5 cm, Height: 42.5 in, Width: 33.25 in, Length: 18.25 in repeat, Width: 7.75 in repeat, Width: 15.75 in material between selvages, Width: 0.25 in selvage
Object history note
Woven in Spitalfields, London
Descriptive line
Dress fabric of double tabby woven silk, Spitalfields, London, ca. 1733
Labels and date
British Galleries:
This silk is very similar to a design by Anna Maria Garthwaite, dated 1733 and sold to a master weaver, Mr Booth. She may have seen this silk and used it as an inspiration for her design, or the silk may have been derived from the design, with alterations to the width and colours. [27/03/2003]
Categories
Textiles; Clothing
Collection code
T&F
