Textile thumbnail 1
Textile thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery

Textile

1690-1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Quantities of Indian painted textiles were imported into Europe by the Dutch, English and French East India Companies during the 17th century. They provided a direct incentive for the production of satisfactory substitutes at home, and this led to the development of European calico printing industries. Printed calicoes were used for both furnishing and dress fabrics, this example being for furnishing. The couple are dressed in highly fashionable clothes of the 1690s.

Places
In 1676 William Sherwin of West Ham in London was granted a patent 'for a new way of printing broad callicoe'. It seems likely he was the first English manufacturer to print textiles using madder dyes and mordants (substances to fix the dyes) for the different shades required, as have been used here. In the 1690s a number of calico printers had workshops in East London, always near good sources of water, like the River Lea, quantities of water being necessary for different stages of the manufacturing process.

Trading & Ownership
Similar developments in textile printing to those in England were taking place in Europe, particularly The Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland, and it is difficult to determine the origin of European printed textiles of this date. This cotton was acquired by the Museum from an Icelandic source in the 1880s. Iceland was ruled by Denmark in the late 17th century, and Denmark had strong trade links with London, so an English origin is possible for it.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cotton, block-printed
Brief description
Printed Cotton, calico, probably made in England or the Netherlands, 1690-1700
Physical description
Printed cotton (calico); block printed cotton; rectangular piece of textile printed with a repeating scene of a fashionably dressed couple meeting in a garden. She is sitting between a tubbed fruit tree (lemon possibly) and a pot of roses. A small dog is at ther feet and she holds out a rose to the gentleman who is approaching her from her left. Above them, on a cloud, a band of winged cherubs are playing the harp, drums, tambourine and trumpet whilst looking on. The image is picked out in white against a red ground.
Dimensions
  • Length: 99.5cm
  • Width: 82cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 21/12/1998 by nh fabric margin 6cm
Gallery label
British Galleries: The word 'calico' comes from the name of Calcutta, the Indian port from which cotton cloth was sent to Europe. Europeans produced printed calico as an alternative to painted Indian textiles. By the 1690s there were a number of calico-printing works in East London making dress and furnishing fabrics. The scale of this design suggests that it was suitable for bed hangings. NB the above information referring to Calcutta is incorrect.(27/03/2003)
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
Quantities of Indian painted textiles were imported into Europe by the Dutch, English and French East India Companies during the 17th century. They provided a direct incentive for the production of satisfactory substitutes at home, and this led to the development of European calico printing industries. Printed calicoes were used for both furnishing and dress fabrics, this example being for furnishing. The couple are dressed in highly fashionable clothes of the 1690s.

Places
In 1676 William Sherwin of West Ham in London was granted a patent 'for a new way of printing broad callicoe'. It seems likely he was the first English manufacturer to print textiles using madder dyes and mordants (substances to fix the dyes) for the different shades required, as have been used here. In the 1690s a number of calico printers had workshops in East London, always near good sources of water, like the River Lea, quantities of water being necessary for different stages of the manufacturing process.

Trading & Ownership
Similar developments in textile printing to those in England were taking place in Europe, particularly The Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland, and it is difficult to determine the origin of European printed textiles of this date. This cotton was acquired by the Museum from an Icelandic source in the 1880s. Iceland was ruled by Denmark in the late 17th century, and Denmark had strong trade links with London, so an English origin is possible for it.
Collection
Accession number
12-1884

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
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