Cracow
Furnishing Fabric
1913 (made)
1913 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This jacquard woven wool and linen furnishing fabric was designed and sold by The Omega Workshops Ltd. Founded in 1913 by Roger Fry, Omega Workshops was a group of artists (including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant) who designed furniture, pottery, carpets, textiles, stained glass and whole schemes of interior decoration. The Omega textile designs were ahead of their time and set a fashion for abstract and geometric patterns. This example 'Cracow', was advertised for sale as a durable tapestry for upholstery, but the V & A has a waistcoat in the collection made of the same fabric.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Cracow (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Jacquard-woven wool and linen
The natural coloured weft thread becomes red in the areas of ground and taupe to define the flowers' sepals. These colours are evidently applied to the thread before weaving as the warp threads carry no additional colour in these areas. Waistcoat, Circ.1-1963, of the same fabric is more strongly coloured. |
| Brief description | 'Cracow' wool and linen furnishing fabric, designed by Riger Fry for Omega Workshops, manufactured by A.H. Lee & Sons, Birkenhead, 1913 |
| Physical description | Doublecloth wool and linen furnishing fabric with a design of stylised flower, stem and leaf. Weft of blue, red, brown wool and white cotton weft; warp of dark brown and cream cotton. Unlike the free-hand, painterly designs for linens produced by the Omega Workshop, Cracow, in its continuous repeat, conforms more to traditional patterns for textiles. This reflects its production on a jacquard loom, where the pattern is produced through the weave. The design for the printed linens was applied by print onto the fabric allowing for more flowing compositions. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by the British Institute of Industrial Art |
| Object history | RP 1935/986 |
| Historical context | Although this fabric is of a weight appropriate for furnishing, the collection also owns a waistcoat made in it (Circ.1-1963). The point paper design for this 'Cracow' (design no. 478), 1914 is in the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead. It is pencil and ink on paper. |
| Production | Attribution note: Woven in width of 54". Price was 15/6d per yard. |
| Summary | This jacquard woven wool and linen furnishing fabric was designed and sold by The Omega Workshops Ltd. Founded in 1913 by Roger Fry, Omega Workshops was a group of artists (including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant) who designed furniture, pottery, carpets, textiles, stained glass and whole schemes of interior decoration. The Omega textile designs were ahead of their time and set a fashion for abstract and geometric patterns. This example 'Cracow', was advertised for sale as a durable tapestry for upholstery, but the V & A has a waistcoat in the collection made of the same fabric. |
| Associated object | CIRC.1-1963 (Design) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.460-1934 |
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| Record created | February 10, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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