Design
12/05/1707 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This design is from an album that contains 104 designs for fine woven silk cloth and is dated May 12th 1707. A constant supply of fashionable new designs from which to create new lines was required, so patternmakers and master weavers like James Leman supplied a wide range of designs for different weavers. The album contains some of his work from the period 1706-1716, as well as five designs from the 1730s.
This design was probably produced by Christopher Baudouin for James Leman. Baudouin was born about 1665. He was a Hugenot refugee, possibly from Tours, and was active in London from the 1680s, being naturalized in 1709. He lived in Paternoster Row in Spitalfields in London.
James Leman was born in 1688 into a weaving family of Huguenot descent. In 1702 James Leman was apprenticed to his father, Peter, and lived with his family in Stewart Street, Spitalfields in London. Leman's inscription on this design reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Matthew Vernon, a mercer who commissioned two designs from Leman between 1707 and 1726.
This design was probably produced by Christopher Baudouin for James Leman. Baudouin was born about 1665. He was a Hugenot refugee, possibly from Tours, and was active in London from the 1680s, being naturalized in 1709. He lived in Paternoster Row in Spitalfields in London.
James Leman was born in 1688 into a weaving family of Huguenot descent. In 1702 James Leman was apprenticed to his father, Peter, and lived with his family in Stewart Street, Spitalfields in London. Leman's inscription on this design reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Matthew Vernon, a mercer who commissioned two designs from Leman between 1707 and 1726.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper |
| Brief description | Design for woven silk from the 'Leman Album', pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper, possibly by Christopher Baudouin, Spitalfields, 1707 |
| Physical description | Design for woven silk from the 'Leman Album', in pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on laid paper, depicting stylised architectural features in yellow ochre: a domed pavilion surmounted by an ornamental feature, an arch, tower and outsize toadstools which take on the appearance of architectural features. There are cascades of small flowers, including some resembling cyclamens, and also a number of outsize flowers, all stylised and depicted in yellow, orange, red, mauve, purple, brown and green. There are also fruit and nuts, including some which are reminiscent of acorns and others similar to a bunch of grapes, all in yellow ochre. The design is squared up in ink for cords and dezines, with dezines numbered in ink. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support and the National Heritage Memorial Fund |
| Object history | This is a design from the so-called 'Leman album' which was bought from Vanners Silks Ltd. in 1991. Natalie Rothstein catalogued the designs before the album was bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum. She gave each design a VS number (for Vanners Silks) in her catalogue Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century. The designs have been subsequently numbered by the Prints, Drawings and Paintings Department, however, a concordance exists. Historical significance: The designs collected in the album are, with the exception of some fragmentary medieval examples in Italian collections, the earliest silk designs known to exist. |
| Production | Natalie Rothstein stated in her book Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century that: 'The inscription appears to be in James Leman's handwriting but the drawing is executed in a more sensitive manner than that exhibited by Leman at this period. The colours are also more subdued. It may therefore be by the 'Mr Baudewine' referred to in the inscription.' This presumably refers to the designer Christopher Baudouin. Natalie Rothstein compared design E.1861.46-1991 (VS.40) which is a copy of a Christopher Baudouin design with this one. |
| Summary | This design is from an album that contains 104 designs for fine woven silk cloth and is dated May 12th 1707. A constant supply of fashionable new designs from which to create new lines was required, so patternmakers and master weavers like James Leman supplied a wide range of designs for different weavers. The album contains some of his work from the period 1706-1716, as well as five designs from the 1730s. This design was probably produced by Christopher Baudouin for James Leman. Baudouin was born about 1665. He was a Hugenot refugee, possibly from Tours, and was active in London from the 1680s, being naturalized in 1709. He lived in Paternoster Row in Spitalfields in London. James Leman was born in 1688 into a weaving family of Huguenot descent. In 1702 James Leman was apprenticed to his father, Peter, and lived with his family in Stewart Street, Spitalfields in London. Leman's inscription on this design reveals that it was commissioned by Mr Matthew Vernon, a mercer who commissioned two designs from Leman between 1707 and 1726. |
| Bibliographic reference | Rothstein, Natalie. Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century in the Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London with a Complete Catalogue with 473 Illustrations, 371 in Colour. London: Thames and Hudson, 1990. 351p., ill. ISBN 0500235899.
pp. 98-99, pl. 7 |
| Other number | VS.35 - 'VS' stands for Vanners Silks which owned the album when Natalie Rothstein catalogued it for her publication <u>Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century</u>. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1861:41-1991 |
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| Record created | May 3, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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