Furnishing fabric of woven silk brocatelle, designed by A. W. N. Pugin for Frederick Crace & Son, woven by Daniel Keith & Co., England, 1849

Furnishing fabric of woven cream and brown silk brocatelle. The fabric has a Gothic pattern of vertical stems, with symmetrically diverging leaves, below a large flower-cum-fruit shape defined by an outer scalloped edge and an inner-cusped edge with small flower heads in the cusps. The ground within this shape is striped horizontally, and is almost covered by a stylised pineapple, with its leaves topped by a fleur-de-lys, as it springs from the central stem. These large shapes are repeated side by side, with a space left between the stems, which is filled by a spiky petalled flower with symmetrical leaves. The ground which shows between these large forms has a small lattice pattern.

The irregularly cut material has a selvedge only on the right-hand side. There are two repeats of the design in the height and in the width of the material. Formed by a thin brown silk pattern warp and a thick brown silk ground weft, and 1/2 twill formed by a thin cream silk ground warp binding a thick cream silk pattern weft.

Given by Mr Ian Grant

This woven textile shows motifs with an ogival form, based on shapes found in Gothic architecture. Augustus Pugin was an architect, designer and writer who pioneered the revival of neo-Gothic design in buildings and interiors. He produced designs for both ecclesiastical and domestic use including stained glass, furniture, metalwork, wallpaper and textiles. Fabrics based on his patterns were woven by the leading silk and woollen manufacturers of the day and sold through two decorating firms, Hardman of Birmingham and Crace of London. Pugin designed carpets and printed roller blinds for the Houses of Parliament, a Gothic revival building. By rejecting busy early Victorian patterns in favour of stronger, cleaner lines, Pugin laid the groundwork for a new aesthetic which favoured stylisation over naturalistic designs.

T.39-1966