Silk Skein
ca. 1840s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This silk skein comes from a set dating to the 1840s, which had been given to Dr Lawrence Holker Potts by Captain Edie, who in turn received it from a Chinese sea captain. These skeins were intended to be used as embroidery threads. Prior to the introduction of aniline dyes into China in the 1860s, dye materials were based on organic materials, mineral or vegetable colours. It is commonly assumed that brightly coloured dyes correspond to new chemical techniques. However this packet of silk skeins from around the 1840s, colour retained intact, demonstrate that organic Chinese dyeing techniques were already producing bright and vibrant colours. Also, despite being closely packed, and skeins coming into contact with each other, colours have remained intact and not transferred.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Dyed silk |
| Brief description | Tex, China, 1840s (Light Mint Green, Pantone 372PC) |
| Physical description | Skein of mint-green coloured silk, to be used in embroidery |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Janet, Annie and Colin Simpson in honour of their great-great grandfather, Dr Lawrence Holker Potts |
| Object history | The skeins were given to one Captain Edie by a sea captain on a Chinese ship in 1840. Captain Edie in turn gave them to Dr Lawrence Holker Potts (the donors' great-grandfather), who was a surgeon, and also an inventer (he invented the hydrawlic pile-driving apparatus, also known as the "Potts menthod"). They have been kept in their original Chinese packaging, and then wrapped in an English newspaper dating to the 1840s, giving us a strong date of origin for the objects. It was likely that Catherine Potts catalogued the silks and wrapped them in the newspapers in 1844, and this gives us a strong indication of the approximate date the silks might have been produced. |
| Summary | This silk skein comes from a set dating to the 1840s, which had been given to Dr Lawrence Holker Potts by Captain Edie, who in turn received it from a Chinese sea captain. These skeins were intended to be used as embroidery threads. Prior to the introduction of aniline dyes into China in the 1860s, dye materials were based on organic materials, mineral or vegetable colours. It is commonly assumed that brightly coloured dyes correspond to new chemical techniques. However this packet of silk skeins from around the 1840s, colour retained intact, demonstrate that organic Chinese dyeing techniques were already producing bright and vibrant colours. Also, despite being closely packed, and skeins coming into contact with each other, colours have remained intact and not transferred. |
| Bibliographic reference | Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6.
This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.67:25-2009 |
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| Record created | December 29, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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