Not on display

Woven Silk

1780s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The silk has a dark salmon-pink ground woven as gros de Tours taffeta, brocaded with a highly stylised floral design in silver-gilt threads. The pattern is woven to shape; it is very likely that the silk - decorated at one end only - was intended exclusively for women's dress. This object - consisting of four loom widths joined together - could be a remnant of a skirt (possibly even of a court mantua). In the centre of the pattern (silk) is a tall exotic plant with symmetrically arranged leaves and flowers. This stands slightly above a border of swags. Along the bottom is a narrow border of formal decoration. On the right hand side a series of crescents and stars are embroidered in outline in silver thread and there is a narrow border embroidered in similar thread running the length of the textile.

Technical details
Brocaded gros de Tours, the pattern bound in 3/1 twill by a proportion of the ground warp threads (1 in 5). Two types of metal thread are used; frisé and filé (2 threads in one shoot).

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brocaded silk
Brief description
woven-to-shape brocaded taffeta, several widths joined together; Spain or France, 1780s
Physical description
The silk has a dark salmon-pink ground woven as gros de Tours taffeta, brocaded with a highly stylised floral design in silver-gilt threads. The pattern is woven to shape; it is very likely that the silk - decorated at one end only - was intended exclusively for women's dress. This object - consisting of four loom widths joined together - could be a remnant of a skirt (possibly even of a court mantua). In the centre of the pattern (silk) is a tall exotic plant with symmetrically arranged leaves and flowers. This stands slightly above a border of swags. Along the bottom is a narrow border of formal decoration. On the right hand side a series of crescents and stars are embroidered in outline in silver thread and there is a narrow border embroidered in similar thread running the length of the textile.

Technical details
Brocaded gros de Tours, the pattern bound in 3/1 twill by a proportion of the ground warp threads (1 in 5). Two types of metal thread are used; frisé and filé (2 threads in one shoot).
Dimensions
  • Length: 206cm
  • Width: 104cm
The pattern is 66 centimetres long and 51 centimetres wide. It also consists of 0.6 cm of coarsely woven tabby selvages.
Credit line
Given by Lady Hudson
Object history
Registered File number 1962/2255
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
T.64-1963

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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