Bed valance

Object Type
This narrow textile is a bed valance, part of a set of bed-hangings made in India for the Hampton villa of the actor and playwright David Garrick. The V&A's collections include the bed for which the valance was made (museum no. W.70-1916) and other furniture owned by Garrick. The valance is hand-painted on cotton and has a repeating design of trees which echoes the larger tree pattern of the bed-curtains.

Design & Designing
Chintz (Indian painted cotton fabric) was immensely fashionable in Britain during the 18th century, both as furnishings and dress. Tree designs were especially popular. By the 1770s, when this piece was made, the influence of Chinese wallpapers was strong, and this can be seen in the treatment of the foliage.

Place
David and Eva Maria Garrick acquired their riverside retreat at Hampton, Middlesex (now south-west London) in 1754. The existing villa was improved by Robert Adam (1728-1792) and the grounds laid out by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, which included a domed temple containing a statue of William Shakespeare by Louis François Roubiliac (1702-1762). The villa's interiors were furnished by Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) from 1768 to 1778 with painted furniture in a Chinoiserie style.

People
The set of bed-hangings, of which this valance is a part, was made for Garrick and his wife in the early 1770s. The hangings were sent as a gift in return for Garrick sending plays to be performed in Calcutta. They were impounded on their arrival in Britain, for an Act of 1721 prohibited the import of Indian chintzes. This prohibition was the result of weavers' protests that chintz imports endangered local production. The Customs eventually released the bed-hangings after an exchange of letters (and even humorous poems) between Garrick and its officials.