Cracow
- Object:
- Place of origin:
Birkenhead, England (made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Fry, Roger, born 1866 - died 1934 (designer)
Omega Workshops (designer)
A.H. Lee & Sons (manufacturer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Jacquard-woven, block-printed wool and linen
- Credit Line:
Given by the British Institute of Industrial Art
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
- Download image
This jacquard woven, block-printed wool and linen furnishing fabric was designed and sold by The Omega Workshops Ltd. Founded in 1913 by Roger Fry, Omega Workshops was a group of artists (including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant) who designed furniture, pottery, carpets, textiles, stained glass and whole schemes of interior decoration. The Omega textile designs were ahead of their time and set a fashion for abstract and geometric patterns. This example 'Cracow', was advertised for sale as a durable tapestry for upholstery, but the V & A has a waistcoat in the collection made of the same fabric.
Physical description
Wool and linen furnishing fabric with an abstract linear pattern. Weft of blue, red, brown wool and white cotton weft; warp of dark brown and cream cotton.
Place of Origin
Birkenhead, England (made)
Date
1913 (made)
Artist/maker
Fry, Roger, born 1866 - died 1934 (designer)
Omega Workshops (designer)
A.H. Lee & Sons (manufacturer)
Materials and Techniques
Jacquard-woven, block-printed wool and linen
Dimensions
Length: 128.8 cm, Width: 142.7 cm
Object history note
RP 1935/986
Historical context note
Although this fabric is of a weight appropriate for furnishing, the collection also owns a waistcoat made in it (Circ.1-1963). The point paper design for this 'Cracow' (design no. 478), 1914 is in the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead. It is pencil and ink on paper.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Donald King, ed., British Textile Design in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tokyo: Gakken, 1980, Vol. III, pl. 181.
The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection. British Textiles from 1900 to 1937. London: V&A Publications, 1992, p. 37, ill. 20.
Full page image
Beyond Bloomsbury. Designs of the Omega Workshops 1913-19, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2009, p. 130, cat. 40.
Exhibition History
Beyond Bloomsbury: Designs of the Omega Workshops, 1913-19 (Courtauld Gallery, Courtauld Institute of Art 18/06/2009-20/09/2009)
Production Note
Attribution note: Woven in width of 54". Price was 15/6d per yard.
Materials
Wool; Linen
Techniques
Weaving; Block printing
Categories
Textiles
Collection code
T&F
