Not currently on display at the V&A

Napkin

Napkin
ca. 1905 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A napkin of mint green damask, woven with Art Nouveau style roses, circles and squares and arrows, monogrammed BK.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleNapkin (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Woven linen
Brief description
A napkin of mint green damask, woven with Art Nouveau style roses, circles and squares and arrows, monogrammed BK.
Physical description
A napkin of mint green damask, woven with Art Nouveau style roses, circles and squares and arrows, monogrammed BK.
Dimensions
  • Width: 36cm
  • Height: 36cm
Style
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
B K (Monogram; corner; embroidering)
Object history
This very brightly coloured damask napkin (for tea) is an extraordinary product of German manufacturers' work in the early 20th century.
Historical context
Traditionally involved in producing heavy table covers, German designers in the early 20th century were encouraged to produce designs combining traditional floral elements into more stylised modern designs to meet the demand from fashionable retailers. This napkin is of a type that would only have been acceptable in avant-garde homes where the new styles from Munich and Weimar were beginning to have a decisive effect of the modern movement as a whole.
Production
Although not identified at the present time, it is possibly the work of one of the leading exponents of the German Art Nouveau movement.
Subject depicted
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
T.24:4-1999

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Record createdNovember 17, 2003
Record URL
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