Valance, Knotted, Ham House

Dateca. 1730

MediumSilk satin with worsted knotted couching. Innerlining of damask linen. Fragments of worsted lining.

Dimensions14" x 51 1/4"

Credit LineGift of S. W. Wolsey.

Object number1967-699,1

DescriptionValance or bed furnishing textile of yellow (Munsell 5Y 7/6) silk satin with design of knotted and couched red wool threads stitched through innerlining of damask linen; couching done with red wool and coral silk thread. Border design of scrolls and scallops. Piece was once lined with crimson worsted, fragments of which survive. Yellow satin primary fabric has temple marks in the selvages and is 29 inches wide, indicative of Chinese manufacture.
ProvenanceMr. S. W. Wolsey stated that fabrics had formerly been used at Ham House. According to Peter Thornton and Maurice Tomlin, "The Furnishing and Decoration of Ham House," the set of furnishings of yellow silk with knotted red thread was made sometime from 1729 to the 1730s, but was not used at Ham House until the Regency Period.