Physical description

A tablecloth of mint green damask, woven with Art Nouveau style roses, circles and squares and arrows, monogrammed BK.

Place of Origin

Germany (made)

Date

ca. 1905 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown

Materials and Techniques

Woven linen

Marks and inscriptions

B K
Monogram; corner; embroidering

Dimensions

Width: 228 cm, Height: 150 cm

Object history note

This very brightly coloured damask tablecloth (for tea) is an extraordinary product of German manufacturers' work in the early 20th century.

Historical context note

Traditionally involved in producing heavy table covers, German designers in the early 20th century were encouraged to produce designs combining traditional floral elements into more stylised modern designs to meet the demand from fashionable retailers. This tablecloth is of a type that would only have been acceptable in avant-garde homes where the new styles from Munich and Weimar were beginning to have a decisive effect of the modern movement as a whole.

Descriptive line

A tablecloth of mint green damask, woven with Art Nouveau style roses, circles and squares and arrows, monogrammed BK.

Production Note

Although not identified at the present time, it is possibly the work of one of the leading exponents of the German or Austrian Art Nouveau movement.

Materials

Linen

Techniques

Damask weave; Weaving

Subjects depicted

Rose (flower)

Categories

Tableware & cutlery; Tea, Coffee & Chocolate wares

Production Type

Mass produced

Collection

Textiles and Fashion Collection